THE 

REPRISAL 


WILLIAM HAROLD HULL 




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THE REPRISAL 


WILLIAM HAROLD HULL 







THE REPRISAL 


BY 

WILLIAM HAROLD HULL 


dorranceT company 


Philadelphia 


COPYRIGHT 

1924 

DORRANCE & COMPANY INC 



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Manufactured in the United States of America 




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To 

My Dearest Pal and Companion, 
My Wife, 

STELLA ALICE HULL, 
who so patiently smoothed out the 
rough spots in my story. 


♦ 



PREFACE 

I am going to place before you a story of the 
so-called desert country of the north central part 
of Arizona as I know it from long and intimate 
acquaintance. Though the descriptions of the 
scenery and hidden places may be inadequate, 
they are accurate and the story is mostly true, as 
I gathered it at first hand from old ranchers and 
desert rats who are personal friends and close 
acquaintances of mine. And I wish to say for 
these rough desert men that there are no more 
honorable and loyal men in the world than this 
fast disappearing race of old-timers. 


W. H. H. 









THE REPRISAL 


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I 

Hal Duncan and Big Jeff Melton were the 
Damon and Pythias of the little Hoosier town 
of Greencastle. Through childhood, youth and 
young manhood, they had been inseparable com¬ 
rades and chums, and now that they had reached 
man's estate and each was launched upon the 
great sea of business adventure they were still 
able to keep an eye on each other, for Hal’s law 
office windows opened out across the town square 
directly facing the front door of Big Jeff’s general 
store. 

On an early June day, in the year 185—, Hal, 
now become a popular young attorney, sat in his 
comfortable office with his feet cocked up on the 
ledge of the open window, his head against the 
back of his easy chair and a fragrant cigar in his 
mouth, sending up a thin blue column of smoke. 
The fresh green fields and early flowers sent 
their delicious perfume in through the open win¬ 
dow, while a great, droning bee came lazily in on 
the breast of a gentle breeze to announce to Hal 
the arrival of the good old summertime. He 
idly watched it circle around the room and out 
into the freedom of the big outdoors. 

7 


8 


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“I wish I could go with you, old fellow. 
Wouldn’t we have a grand time this glorious 
morning?” soliloquised Hal, as he watched the 
bee wing its lazy way fieldward. Then he got up 
and had all the enjoyment of a luxurious stretch. 
He was a giant in stature, well over six feet in 
height and as straight as a die, with a wonderful 
pair of shoulders and depth of chest; all bone and 
powerful muscle. His well-shaped head was 
crowned with a wealth of dark brown hair as fine 
as spun silk, underneath which were glorious dark 
blue eyes, filled with kindness and good humor, 
but hard and cold as blue steel on occasion. His 
nose was large but straight and well moulded, his 
mouth a little wide with full red lips, and his jaw 
strong and determined. Well might he have been 
proud of such a sturdy, robust physique and 
strong, regular features. 

Strolling to the open window, his face lighted 
up as he spied Jeff, a fine-looking young man in 
a bold, dashing way, coming across the square 
toward his office. Jeff was tall and straight like 
himself, but heavier in bulk, and as he swung 
across the square in mighty strides Hal watched 
him with admiring eyes. An unruly mass of jet 
black hair covered his massive head and over¬ 
shadowed his broad, wide forehead. A closer 
view disclosed large eyes resembling brown velvet 
but inclined to avoid the direct gaze, a large nose, 
Roman in shape; tight, thin-lipped mouth, and a 
powerful, fighting jaw. 

Across his path a scrub nine of youngsters was 


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9 


playing old cat with all the riotous enthusiasm of 
wild boyhood. As a fly ball was knocked, one 
little fellow, intent on catching the ball and watch¬ 
ing it as it sailed through the air to the exclu¬ 
sion of everything else, ran with great violence, 
full tilt into Big Jeff. With a roar of surprise 
and anger, he grabbed the luckless youngster by 
the neck with one of his powerful hands, shook 
him as a dog would a rat and hurled him several 
feet away. The lad lay still and quiet. Jeff 
stood for a moment as though undecided, then 
resumed his way to Hal’s office with an ugly 
scowl on his face. Men and boys rushed to the 
fallen lad and carried him tenderly into the corner 
drug store. Angry threats, jibes and curses were 
hurled after Jeff as he went his way. Hal from 
his window was a witness to the whole scene and 
his feeling of admiration gave way to one of sor¬ 
row at his friend’s display of brutality, then anger 
at the realization of the injury to the boy. Hal 
loved children and every youngster in town was 
his sworn ally. 

Jeff came up the steps, two at a time, as lively 
as a child in spite of his great bulk, and entered 
the office like a whirlwind. Instantly he saw the 
look of reproach on Hal’s face and the broad 
smile with which he entered gave way to a sullen 
scowl as he faced his friend. A moment or two 
of awkward silence was broken by Hal. 

“I am utterly ashamed to know that the man I 
call my dearest friend has so much of the brute 


10 


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instinct in him that he can do as devilish a thing 
as I just saw you do.” 

Jeff hung his head at the merited rebuke which 
stung him like a lash, while Hal turned and gazed 
out of the open window. A deep red blush of 
shame spread over Jeff’s neck and face as he 
crossed over to Hal and laid his hand on his 
shoulder. “I am truly sorry, Hal. This raging 
devil inside of me gets the best of me in spite 
of myself.” 

Hal turned to him with a pleasant smile, “I 
know it, old friend, but you must control it before 
it gets you into serious trouble.” 

“Pll try,” rejoined Jeff, and the matter was 
dropped for all time. 

Seating themselves at a flat-topped desk on 
which was spread a map of the United States, 
Jeff produced a letter postmarked “Bergman, 
Arizona,” and read it aloud. It was an offer from 
a big stock man, Jim Dunn, to sell on account of 
sickness all his great range holdings—home 
ranch, buildings, equipment and stock, located 
near that far-away town. He also mentioned 
that it was the finest ranch property in the whole 
western country. 

Jeff waxed enthusiastic over the prospect of 
acquiring a great stock ranch. The two men 
had had endless arguments, Jeff for and Hal 
against the advisability of severing their life¬ 
long ties in this little Hoosier town and going to 
the great West to carve out a new future and 
career for themselves. Now that he had a tan- 


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11 


gible point to work on, Jeff was growing eloquent 
on the subject. 

“You know, Hal,” he began, “you may—I say, 
you may after many years of drudgery become a 
county judge, subject to the beck and call of your 
political 'boss/ ” 

“Indeed, and I’ll not be at the beck and call of 
any 'boss,’ and you know it,” returned Hal with 
some heat. 

“I know that, Hal,” laughed Jeff, “but it is a 
long, uphill fight before you, and you are wasting 
the best years of your life in a small-town way. 
So am I. Instead of getting ahead, I am steadily 
going behind, and if I were to close out here to¬ 
morrow, I would have very little left after paying 
my debts.” 

“Is it as bad as that, Jeff?” 

“Yes.” 

“I didn’t know that. You know I will be glad 
to help you at any time.” 

“I don’t want you to help me. I want you to 
come with me where we can both make good. 
Out there the opportunities are illimitable for the 
country is just in the making, and I want us in 
on the making. If we buy a ranch—I guess you 
will have to do the buying,” Jeff finished with 
a grin. 

They bent over the map spread before them and 
located the tiny spot which represented Bergman. 

“Come on, Hal, say you’ll go,” pleaded Jeff. 

“But what about the fortune spent on my edu- 


12 


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cation to fit me to become what I desire to make 
of myself—a great lawyer?” asked Hal. 

“You stand more chance of becoming a great 
force in the development of that country than you 
do of winning an eminence here,” rejoined Jeff. 

“What about Gwen?” asked Hal. 

Jeff jumped to his feet as though shot at men¬ 
tion of her name, his face distorted with rage and 
his whole attitude one of fury. With upraised 
fist he towered over Hal, uttering frightful curses. 
“She’s mine, she’s mine, I tell you. Keep away 
from her. I’ve loved her and fought for her ever 
since she was a little girl in short dresses and I 
won’t lose her now, even to you. Do you hear?” 

Hal quietly arose and stood before him while he 
was pouring out these words in a torrent of pas¬ 
sion, then laying his hand on Jeff’s arm, said, 
“Wouldn’t it be much better to let Gwen decide 
that question herself? She will have her choice, 
regardless of what we may desire.” 

“I suppose you are right as always, but let us 
settle this question right away. Who will ask her 
first? Have you a pack of cards?” 

“I think there is a pack here somewhere,” an¬ 
swered Hal. He rummaged in an old set of draw¬ 
ers while Jeff paced the floor in a fever of im¬ 
patience, and finally brought forth the required 
deck, placing it on the table wonderingly. Jeff 
picked up the cards and shuffled them two or 
three times, then laid them on the table again. 
“Let’s cut the cards to see who asks her first. 
High card wins,” he said. 


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13 


“All right,” replied Hal, “but it is hardly the 
thing to do. It is a sacred thing to me to ask the 
girl I love to be my wife.” 

“Nonsense,” sneered Jeff, “come on and cut.” 

Hal reached over and cut the deck with the 
ten of hearts. Jeff cut the ace of diamonds. 

“I win,” he cried exultantly. 

“Yes, you win the right to go to Gwen first, 
my dear old pal, but I am not big enough to 
wish you success.” 

Jeff left the office in a triumphant state of 
mind, while Hal paced back and forth in the room, 
cast down to the depths of despair and cold fear 
clutching at his heart at the possibility of his 
beloved Gwen Marshall giving herself to his 
friend, Jeff. He had felt too sure of her love and 
had almost taken it for granted that she was 
his without more ado. What if he were mistaken? 
Gwen surely had the right to have him woo her 
as he should, and have him come to her like a man 
to ask her to be his wife. He prayed to God that 
her love was his very own. Then he climbed out 
of the slough of despond and ascended the 
heights of rapture at the remembrance of long 
hours of close companionship with her. Every 
lingering touch of her hand was recalled, every 
caressing look, and every sweet hour spent in 
close, chummy companionship with her through 
all the years. He knew she had always favored 
him. This, however, was a question of choosing 
a mate for life, which is a different and more 
serious thing than mere companionship. What 


14 


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if she should choose Jeff? He was sure it would 
kill him if she did. These thoughts caused his 
spirits to descend quickly to the depths again and 
remain so throughout the rest of the day and 
night. 

The greatly admired Gwendolyn Marshall was 
the very much spoiled daughter of Judge Mar¬ 
shall, political boss and ruler of his district and 
nearly everyone in it except his beautiful Gwen. 
She ruled and lorded it over him like an empress 
to such an extent that the Judge was very apt 
to sneak into the privacy of his den at signs of 
the approach of one of her rather frequent tan¬ 
trums. 

The Judge and Gwen came into the great draw¬ 
ing-room of their beautiful home, arm in arm, 
talking animatedly and both faces expressing love 
and admiration for each other. Gwen was a beau¬ 
tiful, glorious creature to look upon, above the 
average height of women and superbly moulded. 
Every move betokened splendid strength of youth, 
sinewy grace and plenty of outdoor exercise. 
Your gaze next met the bluest of blue eyes, 
large, open and frank; a beautiful straight nose 
with rather large nostrils, and a regular Cupid’s 
bow of a mouth, not extremely small, but surely 
made to kiss. Her chin, though strong and firm, 
was daintily moulded. A mop of wondrous hair 
like burnished gold was her crowning glory. She 
was a fine horsewoman and swimmer and withal 
pretty much of a Tom-boy. 

Because of the shortness and rotundity of his 


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15 


body the Judge presented quite a contrast to his 
tall, stately daughter. One could not fail to 
notice his generous mouth with its humorous 
little upward quirk at the corners. His nose was 
inclined to be pudgy and his kindly gray eyes, 
set wide apart, twinkled with mirth and love for 
his fellowman, no matter how lowly his station 
in life. These features were surmounted by a 
wide, noble forehead and a bald pate encircled 
by a little fringe of iron-gray hair. He was a 
jolly good fellow beloved by man, woman and 
child throughout the little town and far-flung 
countryside. Gwen thought him the most capable 
man in the world and he deemed her the most 
wonderful girl. It was an ideal mutual admiration 
affair. 

Father and daughter were laughing heartily 
as they entered the room and seated themselves 
for a comfortable chat. In the course of the con¬ 
versation the Judge’s face clouded for a moment 
as he turned squarely around, facing Gwen. “I 
saw you riding that black devil, Flasher, today 
and I want you to promise me you will not ride 
him any more, my girl.” 

“But I cannot promise that, Daddy. You do 
not want me to lie to you, do you?” 

“No. And I know you would not do that.” 

“Well, I should if I promised not to ride dear 
old Flasher. He is a precious fellow and just 
loves his ‘Missy-me.’ ” 

“He is a black-hearted devil,” returned the 
Judge with some warmth. “Do you know he 


16 


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chased me clear across the barn lot and kicked 
the top board off the fence just as I dropped to 
the ground outside?” 

The picture of her father’s little short legs fly¬ 
ing across the barn lot and him scampering over 
the high fence to ecape her beautiful black stallion 
was too much for Gwen’s risibilities and she 
rocked back and forth, laughing until her eyes 
were filled with tears. The Judge looked at her 
in amazement for a moment, then arose and 
paced the room in high dudgeon. This did not 
put a stop to Gwen’s mirth nor his stern expres¬ 
sion as he stopped before her. Instead, her merri¬ 
ment was contagious and he was soon laughing 
heartily with her. “I tell you the black rascal 
nearly got me, too. It wasn’t so darned funny 
then.” 

At this juncture, a maid announced Mr. Melton, 
and Jeff was ushered into the room. They greeted 
him warmly as an old, intimate friend. The 
Judge told of his race for safety and did not spare 
himself a bit in the retelling of the story, at which 
Jeff joined heartily in the laughter. After a few 
moments the Judge excused himself “to leave you 
young ones to yourselves,” as he put it, and 
retired to his beloved den, for which Jeff in his 
mind, blessed him heartily. 


II 


Since an opportune time was provided, Jeff lost 
no time beating around the bush, but seated 
himself on the couch beside Gwen and gently 
took her hand in his. She looked up at him 
somewhat surprised, and tried to draw away when 
she saw the impassioned expression in his eyes. 
But Jeff was terribly in earnest and was not to 
be denied. Holding her hand more tightly, he 
drew her slightly toward him while she looked at 
him appealingly, “Don’t Jeff. Please don’t.” 

He spoke with passion uncontrolled. “You 
must listen to me, Gwen. I came to ask of you 
the greatest boon that any man can ask a woman, 
and that is—to be my wife.” He put out his hand 
to quiet her as she attempted to interrupt him. 
“Please let me finish,” he continued, “I was only 
a little shaver when you were a baby; I toted 
you all over the countryside in my little wagon; 
I fought your battles all through your school¬ 
days; I was your humble worshiper through your 
youthful years; and now that we have reached 
young womanhood and manhood, I worship you 
with all the strength of my soul. How much I 
love you only God can know. Will you be my 
wife, Gwen? I will love and shield you as seldom 
falls to the lot of any woman. Oh, Gwen, tell 
me you love me.” 


17 


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The man’s soul was in his eyes as he waited 
for the girl to speak, while she sat with bowed 
head. Why, oh, why must she bring unhappiness 
to this lifelong companion and chum? She knew 
every word he spoke was true. She loved him as 
she would a big, manly brother, but not other¬ 
wise. Looking up at him with tear-dimmed eyes, 
she cried, “Oh, Jeff, it cannot be. I have loved 
you all my life, too, but not in that way, nor can 
I ever do so. I am just heartsick to have to say 
this to you, my old chum, but it can never be 
otherwise, Jeff.” 

“You love someone else then?” he asked in a 
strained voice. His face had turned white as a 
man mortally wounded and his eyes were pitiful 
in their suffering. 

“Please do not question me, Jeff.” 

For a few moments he sat with bowed head, 
and her woman’s heart went out to him in pity. 
When he rose to go she stood in front of him 
holding out her hand. He lost all control of 
himself and gathering her to his breast in a 
mighty embrace, rained kiss after kiss on her 
face and hair. The contact with this glorious 
woman set him wild. God! How he wanted her 
for his very own. She struggled wildly to free 
herself from the man who she knew had lost all 
sense of propriety and chivalry, and became 
furious at his persistency. Holding herself apart 
from him as far as possible, with one hand against 
his broad chest, she rained blow after blow on his 
beastly livid face, until he finally released her 


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19 


and stood panting and eyeing her as she leaped 
out of his reach. Never before had she been 
aroused to such a fury of resentment at his 
actions. To think that anyone would take such 
liberties with her, Gwen Marshall, mortified her. 

“You have descended from manhood to bestial¬ 
ity. Leave me instantly and never enter my pres¬ 
ence again, until you have learned to control 
yourself. Go!” She had drawn herself to her 
full height and her face was fury personified. 
“Go,” she repeated, as he stood drinking in her 
beauty, more glorious to him now than ever. The 
recollection of having held her in his arms and of 
raining passionate kisses upon her was with him 
and would be forevermore. He fairly gloated over 
her, looked at her with a taunting smile that cut 
her like a lash, and with a low mocking bow, 
left the room. 

Gwen was beside herself with rage and humilia¬ 
tion and paced the room like a wild animal in a 
cage. The Judge, coming from his den at this 
inopportune time, stopped on the threshold in 
amazement, then softly tiptoed back to the secur¬ 
ity of his den, while Gwen fairly wore herself 
out with her storm of anger and finally threw her¬ 
self on the couch in a paroxysm of weeping. 

Jeff was like a huge beast mortally wounded 
and fighting to the last. He would not admit 
to himself that he had lost her, but rushed blindly 
into the darkness, stumbling and reeling along 
like a drunken man through the streets of the 
little town and out into the country roads, un- 


20 


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heeding, unseeing. The small hours of morning 
found him standing in front of Gwen’s home in 
dumb anguished longing for the unattainable. 
At break of day he dragged himself wearily into 
his rooms over his store. Gaunt and haggard and 
scarcely recognizable was the face he saw in the 
mirror. His eyes were burning like balls of fire 
and he was weary, oh, so weary. He bathed his 
face in cold water, took a big drink of whiskey 
from a decanter on the sideboard, and sat down 
to rest, to think, and to regain control of him¬ 
self, for he was determined no one should see 
a sign of weakness in Big Jeff. When he entered 
hi6 store at the usual time no one would have 
surmised the wild heart-breaking night he had 
spent. 

Gwen, like a healthy young colt, was unaffected 
by her experience of the previous night, and on 
this glorious spring morning was out among the 
flowers in the spacious grounds of her home, 
bright and early. The spring flowers were out in 
profusion and great was her joy thereat. Flit¬ 
ting from flower to flower like a bird, inhal¬ 
ing deep draughts of delicious air, and skipping 
about like a happy child, she was surprised by 
Hal, who stood drinking in her beauty with love- 
lit eyes. “Hello, there,” she greeted him cheerily, 
“isn’t it grand to be alive in this beautiful world 
of ours this morning?” 

“It certainly is,” he answered happily. 

“And what brings you out so early?” she quer¬ 
ied with a saucy little toss of her head. 


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21 


Hal’s face sobered. “You do.” 

“I do?” 

“Yes, you. Listen, Gwen.” She had come 
quite close to him and he took her hand firmly in 
his. “I have come to tell you of my love for you 
and ask you to be my wife: I could wait no 
longer.” 

Her face clouded and she turned from him at 
recollection of the scene with Jeff the previous 
night. But she allowed her hand to remain in 
his. “I do want you to be my wife, my sweet 
Gwen. Tell me that I have not lost you—that 
you love me in return.” 

A bright smile greeted him through happy 
tears. “Yes, Hal, I do love you.” 

He grasped her in his arms. How sweet was 
the kiss of her dear lips so freely and trustingly 
offered to him. When she could release herself 
she held up a dainty finger as if to rebuke him, her 
head perked on one side and her pouting lips 
betraying the love-light in her eyes. “I had 
begun to think that you would never ask me.” 

“You did?” he asked in astonishment. 

Her merry laugh pealed out. “Yes, you rascal, 
come on.” She grabbed him by the hand and 
dragged him toward the house. Now if there 
was anyone in the world that Hal stood in awe 
of, it was the Judge, even though they were good 
friends and jolly companions, and it was with 
much trepidation that he approached his sanctum 
sanctorum. Gwen ushered him in before her 
father much as she would a naughty schoolboy, 


22 


THE REPRISAL 


with a little air of triumph all her own, her eyes 
sparkling with joy and excitement as she gave 
him a slight push toward the Judge, where he 
stood looking helplessly from one to the other. 
If he expected aid from Gwen he had figured 
without his host. However, the Judge surmised 
their errand at once, and assumed his most 
judicial air. Looking sternly at Hal, he said, 
“Well, sir, what can I do for you?” 

Hal failed to note the merry twinkle in his 
eyes and stood before him, a very much em¬ 
barrassed young man. He tried to speak two 
or three times but only succeeded in opening 
and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. 
He looked appealingly at Gwen, who was having 
a hard time not to burst forth in laughter at his 
ludicrous predicament. All hope of encourage¬ 
ment from that quarter was abandoned when he 
saw the merriment in her eyes, so he turned to 
the Judge again. “Why—why—I want to marry 
Gwen,” he finally stammered. The Judge was 
staring at him with open mouth. “The hell you 
do,” he exploded, and arose to his feet in evident 
indignation, eyeing Hal more sternly than ever. 

Hal was on the verge of becoming indignant 
himself when he heard a smothered giggle from 
Gwen, for to him this was serious business. “Ye— 
yes, sir.” 

The Judge strode close to him, shaking his 
finger menacingly. “Who do you think you are,” 
he burst out, “coming around here trying to take 
my girl away from me, you young jackanapes. 


THE REPRISAL 


23 


No, sirree! Not by a jugful.” He seemed so 
dead in earnest that he even deceived Gwen, who 
was resolved not to have her Hal abused. Quickly 
thrusting herself between the two men, she stuck 
out a determined jaw at the Judge, while her eyes 
fairly blazed. “Well, he will marry me if he wants 
to. I think I have something to say on that 
score,” she said, with a defiant shake of her 
head. “So there.” 

“Is that so? Nonsense,” he retorted, and fairly 
shooed them out of his den, Hal dumfounded and 
Gwen highly indignant. She stalked out into the 
yard in high dudgeon, closely followed by her 
very warm and uncomfortable lover, the Judge 
watching them from the shelter of his den, very 
much amused. 

“Whew!” ejaculated Hal, mopping his brow 
with his handkerchief. Gwen burst out into peal 
after peal of merry laughter, while he stared at 
her bewildered. Then she led the way to a rustic 
bench beneath a great elm and he seated himself 
beside her, eyeing her somewhat huffily as her 
merriment continued. 

“I don’t see anything to laugh at,” he grunted. 

“I do. You were too comical for anything.” 

“Humph. Go as far as you like,” he retorted 
petulantly. 

Gwen’s laughing eyes and merry face were too 
much for even the disgruntled Hal to withstand, 
and he was soon laughing as heartily as she. 

“Now, look here, Hal, I don’t know whether 
Daddy was in earnest or not, but we will take 


24 


THE REPRISAL 


no chances. Let us be married tonight, go away 
for a little honeymoon trip and fool him right, 
the old smarty.” He seized her and kissed her 
warmly. “Gwen, you are a brick.” 

So it was all arranged that Hal should drive 
to the garden gate for her that night when they 
would be married at the parsonage and take a 
late train to Louisville. 

The Judge watched them as they completed 
their arrangements, but politely turned his head 
at their tender parting. “God bless you, my chil¬ 
dren,” he murmured to himself, as his eyes took 
on a far-away look. “You are like your darling 
mother before you, my Gwendolyn. And, by gad, 
he’s some man, some man.” 

Hal went about making plans for the elopement 
and trip like one in a trance, but they were most 
thoroughly made. He waited until late in the day 
to get the license, swearing to secrecy John Gas¬ 
ton, the clerk, who was a particular chum of his. 
He did so want to take Jeff into his confidence, 
but was too loyal to him to show even the 
slightest trace of triumph over his happiness. Be¬ 
cause of his defeat, Jeff kept away from Hal, for 
he felt too humiliated to face him yet. 

Gwen packed two traveling cases and wrote a 
pert little note to the Judge, appraising him of 
their marriage and destination. It seemed the 
Judge never would retire that night, but he finally 
bid her good-night, and as he did so, he seemed 
to hold her more tightly and kiss her more ten¬ 
derly than usual. Instead of retiring, however, 


THE REPRISAL 


25 


he sneaked into his den, donned his coat and cap, 
and cautiously made his way to a bench hidden in 
the shrubbery of the grounds, then lighted a cigar 
and patiently waited. 

Gwen, too, was waiting until she felt certain 
that everyone in the house was sound asleep. 
Then she left her note on her father’s desk and 
sneaked out like a little mouse. 

The Judge saw her as she hurried across the 
wide lawn. Hal was waiting beside his buggy at 
the gate and hastened to meet her. He was sure 
he smelled fragrant cigar smoke and wondered at 
its seeming closeness. Gwen smelled it too and 
at the same moment caught sight of the lighted 
end of the Judge’s cigar, as he intended she 
should. This caused her to stop short and stare 
at it a moment, then fairly fly across the lawn 
until she met Hal, who took her luggage from 
her as she panted, “Hurry, hurry, someone is in 
the shrubbery.” Hal threw the bags into the 
buggy and almost did the same with Gwen in his 
haste to get away. The Judge had followed them 
in the shadows and was close enough to enjoy 
it hugely. Just as they started away, his loud 
guffaw burst out at close range and nearly startled 
the runaways out of a years’ growth. “Haw, haw, 
haw,” he roared with laughter, while they looked 
at each other in amazement. Hal struck the horse 
a smart crack with the whip, whereat that indig¬ 
nant animal, with a snort and jump, whirled 
around and nearly upset them before Hal could 
get him under control. As they drove away into 


26 


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the bright moonlight, the Judge called after them, 
“God bless you, my children.” 

Arrived at the minister’s home, that kind old 
man soon after pronounced them man and wife. 
His wife and old serving-maid acted as witnesses, 
and as the newly-weds started on their honey¬ 
moon, they were followed by the good wishes of 
these old friends. 


Ill 


What a glorious month of wondrous love and 
happiness the young couple spent in the hospi¬ 
table old southern town. The Judge wrote them 
a jolly letter full of love and affection and ended 
with, “Come home, you rascals, and receive the 
paternal blessing.” 

Jeff was a daily visitor at the Judge’s home 
while the newly-weds were away, and spent many 
a pleasant evening with him in his den. The 
Judge confined his conversation pretty much to 
the absent ones, while Jeff drank in with a hun¬ 
gry heart every little anecdote and story he had 
to tell of Gwen. For this reason the Judge had 
a good listener and they were mutual good com¬ 
pany for each other. 

But there comes an end to all mundane things, 
even honeymoons, and the day for the return of 
Hal and Gwen had arrived. The Judge was im¬ 
patiently pacing the great front porch, keeping an 
ever-watchful eye for their first appearance. Jeff, 
no less impatient, but master of himself, was 
lounging in a comfortable porch chair, smoking 
one of the Judge’s fragrant cigars, when a hand¬ 
some equipage, drawn by a splendid team of bays, 
swung into the drive and drew up with a flourish 
at the house. Gwen alighted and nearly smoth¬ 
ered her father with hugs and kisses, then turned 
27 


28 


THE REPRISAL 


to Jeff and freely held out her hand. He greeted 
her with boyish camaraderie, as he also did Hal, 
after that happy young man had paid his respects 
to the Judge. Gwen hurried into the house to 
greet the loyal old servants and later joined the 
three men in the drawing-room, where they were 
sampling with much gusto some rare old wine 
which was served only on special occasions. She 
was greeted with three satisfied “Ahs” and hearty 
smacks of the lips as the men finished their drinks. 

“It must be good to draw such sighs of ap¬ 
proval,she laughed. 

“Great,” said Jeff. 

“Sublime,” piped Hal. 

“Incomparable, my dear,” assured the Judge. 

After a jolly recital of the gay time they had in 
the southern city and the Judge’s confession of 
his spying on the elopement, they fell to talking 
of the future. 

“Hal, I am pretty much in favor of Jeff’s plan 
to go west and grow with the country. There is 
a wonderful opportunity there for energetic young 
men. He tells me you have talked much of it. 
What do you think of it?” asked the Judge. 

Hal looked at him, then at Gwen, who was 
gazing inquiringly at him. “I have thought much 
of it,” he replied, “and have been unable to decide. 
Of course, I would be obliged to leave Gwen here 
with you until both of you could join me later.” 

“Yes,” assented the Judge. 

“As soon as I can establish a home, I shall 
want you and Gwen to come,” continued Hal. 


THE REPRISAL 


29 


She was gazing from one to the other, thinking 
intently and rather stunned at the trend of con¬ 
versation. Looking at Jeff, she suddenly sur¬ 
prised an expression on his face that fairly made 
her blood run cold. His eyes were narrowed to 
mere slits, his jaw thrust forward, a nasty sneer 
played around his mouth and his face was full of 
ferocious hatred, all directed at Hal. Utterly 
oblivious to everything else, he was hanging onto 
every word of Hal’s. 

“I think it a move well worth trying, and if 
Jeff is still willing, so am I.” A look of devilish 
triumph that fairly stunned Gwen crossed Jeff’s 
face. Hal sat in deep study for a moment, then 
with a bright smile looked up at Jeff and nearly 
surprised the fiendish look on his face, which 
disappeared like a flash and gave way to one of 
apparent good will. 

“You know my sentiments, Hal. I am ready 
any time you say the word,” Jeff assured him. 

Gwen protested vehemently against Hal’s de¬ 
parture without her, but her arguments were 
overwhelmingly overruled by those of the three 
men. They tried to convince her to their way 
of thinking, but recalling what she saw a few 
moments before, her woman’s heart cried out in 
fear aside from her most natural desire to ac¬ 
company her husband. However, her objections 
were as chaff before the wind as they proceeded 
to formulate their plans. 

Finally the Judge arose, walked deliberately to 
his desk, and returned with three packages of 


30 


THE REPRISAL 


greenbacks which he laid on the table in front of 
Hal. Looking up in surprise, he beheld an affec¬ 
tionate smile and a merry twinkle in the Judge’s 
eyes. 

“There are thirty thousand dollars, my boy, 
which I want you to take and invest in your 
venture as Gwen’s share in your enterprise.” 

Again Gwen detected a sinister expression on 
Jeff’s face, one of malicious envy. He seemed to 
feel her gaze upon him and, by a powerful effort, 
turned to her with a friendly smile, “You see 
you’ll be our partner in earnest.” 

“Yes,” she answered indifferently, and turned 
to Hal, who had risen and grasped the Judge by 
the hand, saying, “This is indeed handsome of 
you, Judge. It will assure our success.” 

Patting Hal on the shoulder, the Judge an¬ 
swered, “That’s all right, son. Take it as 
freely as given, guard it, and invest it as your 
own.” 

The rest of the day was spent in perfecting 
their plans which were launched with great enthu¬ 
siasm by all except Gwen. She excused herself, 
donned a riding habit, had “Flasher” saddled, and 
rode him furiously hour after hour, mile upon 
mile, utterly oblivious to her surroundings, but 
thinking seriously and devising ways to keep Hal 
from his proposed journey, for her heart was full 
of fear for him. 

The country people stared after the great black 
stallion, covered with a mass of lather, as he tore 
across the territory with his beautiful, stony-faced 


THE REPRISAL 


31 


mistress astride him, for she rode astride even in 
those days of Puritanical ideas. The wonderful 
power and strength of even Flasher had a limit 
which she realized with a start as he staggered 
beneath her. Her heart went out to him in pity 
as she pulled him down to a walk and dismounted, 
allowing him to walk the rest of the way into a 
little town, where she had him properly cared for 
and rested at a livery barn. 

When she reached home the men had just con¬ 
cluded their session and Jeff was taking his leave. 
He bent low and implanted a light kiss on her 
hand, for was not his heart light? Everything 
was turning out most satisfactorily for him. He 
would have his revenge on his old pal and chum 
someway, somehow, and Gwen would yet be his 
very own. His spirits rose as he wended his way 
homeward. He had declined the Judge’s cordial 
invitation to stay to dinner, for he wanted to be 
alone where there was no eye to spy upon him, 
where he could hug his unholy glee to his breast, 
where he could gloat over his mind’s picture of 
the glorious Gwen and wreak imaginary ven¬ 
geance on his life-long comrade. What did friend¬ 
ship count when the friend stood between himself 
and the woman he loved? He was determined to 
have her, whatever the cost and means of ob¬ 
taining her. Far into the night in his private 
rooms, a bottle of whiskey at his elbow, he fed 
the flames of the whole gamut of passion. 

Gwen could only tell of the foreboding in her 
heart as she pleaded, without avail, to Hal and 


32 


THE REPRISAL 


her father to abandon their plans for adventure 
into strange lands, but they lightly laughed her 
fears away and petted her indulgently. It was a 
heartsick Gwen who retired that night. 

After Hal sold out he realized over twenty 
thousand dollars, which gave him possession of 
more than fifty thousand, including what the 
Judge had added. Jeff cleared about five thou¬ 
sand, but that did not bother him, for he was 
determined to add Hal’s fifty thousand with his. 

Three months after the marriage of Gwen and 
Hal, came the momentous day of parting, the day 
when Hal and Jeff were to start on their two- 
thousand-mile journey into new and strange lands, 
making the greater part of the way by wagon- 
train. 

Nearly everyone in town gathered in the 
Judge’s spacious grounds to bid the adventurers 
Godspeed. A spasm of bitter jealousy arose in 
Jeff’s breast as he saw the heartfelt, sincere and 
loving greetings bestowed upon Hal while those 
given him were most perfunctory and lacking 
in love and enthusiasm. With the exception of 
a very few close companions, notably two of the 
most disreputable youths in town, Lafe Stewart 
and Andy Wight, petty crooks and toughs, there 
was little attention paid to him. 

Gwen was very brave as Hal took his leave, 
while the Judge joked and most furiously wiped 
his nose to hide his emotion. At last, amid wav¬ 
ing of hands and handkerchiefs from the crowd, 
riding in the Judge’s beautiful carriage behind 


THE REPRISAL 


33 


the bays, they were driven to the depot. Hal was 
quiet and saw nothing but Gwen’s winsome face 
before him until the train left. 


IV 


The trip to St. Louis was uneventful. On their 
arrival they purchased a prairie-schooner, a good 
four-horse team, two splendid saddle horses which 
were tied to the rear of the wagon, and a gen¬ 
erous supply of provisions of all kinds, including 
grub, clothing, guns and ammunition, a supply 
large enough to stock a small store. They also 
decked themselves out in true frontier fashion— 
high boots, doeskin shirts and breeches, ban¬ 
danas about their necks, wide-brimmed sombreros 
on their heads, and last but not least, each wore 
a belt of cartridges with a brace of pistols at 
their hips. They joined the wagon-train of Captain 
Jack Bonner, a noted guide, gunman and Indian 
fighter and a square shooter. 

The journey to the old Pueblo of Santa Fe was 
of no particular moment other than weeks of 
dogged plodding over plain, valley and mountain, 
which seemed interminable. Two trivial brushes 
with redskins furnished the only excitement. How¬ 
ever, it was all new and romantic to Hal, and 
he wove a world of romance into this vast won¬ 
derland and all he saw therein. He wrote such 
interesting letters to Gwen and the Judge that 
they could most accurately picture the country 
from his lively, vivid descriptions of it. The little 
“dobe” town of Santa Fe he described as a piece 

34 


THE REPRISAL 


35 


of old Spain, set down among the mountains in 
this far-away country and filled with many won¬ 
drous sights and customs. 

Jeff had unobtrusively taken the leadership of 
their joint outfit and Hal had not interfered. 
Jeff did the driving while Hal attended to the 
cooking and camp duties, and under this arrange¬ 
ment they got along very well. 

At Santa Fe Jeff notified Captain Bonner that 
he and Hal would travel from there alone. Hal 
was surprised to hear the decision, but in spite 
of his protest and Bonner’s warning, Jeff insisted 
on going the rest of the way, nearly six hundred 
miles, without Bonner and his train, becoming 
very impatient at Hal’s insistence to write a 
letter home and openly sneering at him for doing 
so. It might be the last chance to dispatch a 
message, for travelers were few and far between, 
and there were no mail facilities to speak of as 
yet. So Hal won his argument and wrote a long, 
cheerful letter home, warning Gwen and her 
father that it might be several months before 
they received another. 

In the meantime, Jeff had the outfit in readi¬ 
ness and was pacing impatiently back and forth 
beside the wagon. After Hal had attended to his 
pleasant duty he bid their companions good-bye, 
and joined Jeff with a cherry “All right, old Pal. 
Let’s go.” Jeff only grunted as they took their 
places and resumed the journey. Each day be¬ 
fore dark in the dusk of a beautiful evening they 
made camp and were soon many miles beyond the 


36 


THE REPRISAL 


wagon-train they had forsaken. Day after day 
they plodded on until they reached the old Pueblo 
of Albuquerque, when Jeff became morose and 
sullen and Hal was at a loss to account for his 
former jolly companion’s change of attitude. But 
there was so much to see, so many strange rock 
formations, wonderful plant life, and queer animals 
and reptiles, that Hal paid little attention to his 
surliness. His own thoughts were prime com¬ 
pany and he enjoyed every moment, giving little 
heed to the fact that they were miles off the 
beaten trail and arrived at no camps or settlements, 
nor met a single human being. Indeed, he gave 
no thought to this situation as they passed 
through many miles of dreary wastes and finally 
reached the place where the Rio Puerco River— 
nicknamed, in later days, the Perky—played mad 
havoc in its flood stage, stripping the foliage from 
the scrub timber along its banks and leaving it 
bleached and bare, cutting a thousand channels 
here and there, tearing down great banks and 
hills, and carrying great rocks for miles down 
stream. 

They had just crossed a wide, dry wash and 
reached the high bank when, with a mighty roar, 
a wild rush of muddy waters banked ten feet 
high in a solid wall, came tearing down the wash 
they had just left. Rocks and trees were tossing 
and rolling along in the foaming mass with in¬ 
credible velocity. It was only a few moments 
until the flood had subsided as quickly as it had 
come from a small cloudburst, miles back in the 


THE REPRISAL 


37 


mountains. Both men realized the certain death 
they had just escaped and looked at each other 
with blanched faces. 

On and on they rode, across sixty miles of 
Malapai beds—beds of red and black flint rock, 
on which it is impossible to mark a trail, and 
rising on all sides in queer, fantastic shapes—out 
into immense valleys of rich soil, past towering 
mountain ranges, through mighty passes, beyond 
miles of wonderfully colored rocky cliffs; bright 
red, blue, yellow and lavender, they were. The 
cliffs were carved in manifold fantastic shapes, 
castles and minarets, mighty caves and towering 
monuments, by age-old waters. Then on they 
traveled through a heavily timbered mountain 
range whose snowy peaks rise high above the 
timber belt containing giant oaks, pines, spruce, 
black walnut, ash and flowering maples. 

Thirty days after leaving Santa Fe, they crossed 
a wide valley in which were grazing immense 
herds of buffalo, then up and over a series of 
low mountain ranges, and at last from the west¬ 
ern ridge of the last range, they looked down 
upon a valley, vast in extent, whose western 
edge merged with the base of a dimly discernible 
range of mountains. This immense depression 
was surrounded by giant ranges, those to the 
west and south suffused in lavender mists, those 
to the north in hazy, delicate blue. The sun was 
pouring a golden flood into this great valley, 
causing every hill and black butte dotting the 
floor of the valley, to stand out in bold relief. 


38 


THE REPRISAL 


Way off to the south a spur of the southern range 
thrust its long, low summit for many miles up 
into the valley, thereby dividing the southern 
portion of it into two parts. A many-hued car¬ 
pet of black-eyed Susans, mountain daisies, blood- 
red rock lilies, and a myriad of other wild flowers 
covered the ground as far as the eye could reach. 

In the center of the valley, just off the spur of 
mountains extending from the south, lay a little 
settlement. Two or three wisps of smoke curled 
up into the bright air, barely discernible from the 
ridge where the two young men found them¬ 
selves. Hal stood beside the wagon with bared 
head, scarcely breathing as he drank in this en¬ 
chanted picture with all his soul. Jeff, also a 
nature lover, was strangely affected by the vast 
expanse spread out before him. He had rightly 
surmised the little settlement to be Bergman, 
their destination. For a few minutes he sat in 
the wagon, quietly smoking his pipe and enjoying 
the panorama before them and grasping the 
situation in all its surroundings. 

Their reverie was rudely broken by the rever¬ 
berant, sibilant buzz of a rattler. The saddle 
horses at the rear of the wagon pitched, plunged 
and snorted in terror. Jeff’s big sorrel broke 
his rein and dashed away into the valley below 
while the snake glided into the brush beside the 
trail. They watched the fleeing horse until he 
was a mere speck off to the south, and while 
watching him they also discovered a group of 
low-lying ranch buildings in that direction. 


THE REPRISAL 


39 


Mounting his horse, a splendid bay, Hal prepared 
to follow the runaway. 

It was agreed that Jeff should follow with the 
outfit and meet Hal at the ranch in the valley. 
He arrived late in the afternoon and found a 
group of ranch buildings in first-class condition, 
a large house, a cook-shack, a dining-room, bunk 
houses, barns and corrals. The whole place was 
comfortably furnished and showed traces of re¬ 
cent occupation, but now deserted except for a 
few fat cattle grazing near by. Jeff watered and 
fed his team and proceeded to make himself 
comfortable, seated in a big easy chair on the 
front porch, his pipe sending up blue curls of 
smoke. 

Hal, after much hard riding and no end of 
patience, succeeded in cornering and capturing 
the runaway and arrived at the ranch barely an 
hour behind Jeff, who now proposed that they 
ride to the town, which lay not many miles to 
the north. To this proposition Hal readily 
acquiesced, and they were soon riding along a 
well-worn trail until they arrived at a place where 
it branched and dipped down across a deep, nar¬ 
row canyon. Jeff insisted that this would prob¬ 
ably be a short cut and wanted to follow it. Hal 
agreed and turned his horse toward the canyon, 
closely followed by Jeff, who was scanning the 
horizon carefully in all directions. Not a living 
thing in sight. An exultant, devilish smile crossed 
his face, followed by a look of inhuman hatred, 
as he bent his gaze upon Hal, riding so peace- 


40 


THE REPRISAL 


fully and happily down into the canyon, looking 
for grandeur and beauty everywhere. What a 
wonderful lot of things he would have to show 
to Gwen and her father when they came. He was 
utterly oblivious to everything else and a happy 
smile parted his lips. 

Jeff rode more closely, as closely as he dared. 
Rising in his stirrups and stealthily pulling his 
gun from its holster, he took careful aim at the 
back of his unsuspecting friend’s head, his face 
distorted with hate and passion. Only a moment 
did he hesitate, then fired. It seemed as though 
the reverberating roar of the shot between the 
canyon walls would never stop. Hal pitched for¬ 
ward and headlong from the back of his fright¬ 
ened horse as it dashed madly down into the 
canyon below. Rolling and tumbling down the 
narrow trail almost beneath his horse’s feet, he 
finally turned over and lodged between the canyon 
wall and a huge slab of detached rock. 

Jeff quieted his horse and sat staring in terror 
at the tumbling, rolling object that had been his 
friend to the last. A great surge of fear gripped 
him and he turned and rode up out of the canyon 
as though the devil were at his heels. When he 
reached level ground he halted and took a big 
drink of whiskey from his pocket flask. Upbraid¬ 
ing himself for his cowardice, he rode boldly 
back to finish his atrocious work. The body that 
was wedged face down between the rocks had 
turned over so the blood-stained face was staring 
up at him with wide, glassy eyes. Terrified beyond 


THE REPRISAL 


41 


control, he cried out hoarsely with a great fear 
gripping him and turned his face from the ghastly 
sight, then suddenly struck with a new determina¬ 
tion he drew his gun and fired again. Thrusting 
the gun hastily back into its holster, he hurried 
to Hal’s side, bent over the body, unbuckled the 
money-belt, and drew it from his waist. He took 
the greenbacks and cast the belt into the canyon, 
then hastily counted the bills to see if he had 
them all. “The coyotes will finish your hash 
tonight,” he sneered, and hastily turning away, 
led his horse down into the canyon where he 
found Hal’s horse quietly grazing. He caught 
him and led him behind his mount as he hurriedly 
made his way back to the ranch house. After 
caring for the horses he proceeded to make him¬ 
self at home again. 


V 


Juan Garcia, the big genial Mexican foreman 
of Dunn’s “Diamond Bar” ranch, was making his 
way by the canyon trail from the west to the 
East Valley ranch house of the outfit where he 
had instructed his cowpunchers to put up for the 
night. This was the ranch where Jeff had made 
himself comfortable and was an outlying station 
of the main ranch. 

A thin wall of rimrock rose on the western 
side of the canyon to a height of thirty or forty 
feet above the surrounding country, broken here 
and there by crevices and holes through which 
one could get a full view of the canyon below 
and the trail as it entered from the opposite side, 
and yet not be seen in his hiding place. Juan 
was a brave man, but cautious withal. When he 
heard voices and horses’ hoofs striking the trail 
across the canyon, he quietly hid his horse in the 
heavy brush and peered through a hole in the 
rock where he had a good view. Lying flat on 
his belly, he saw the strangers, Hal and Jeff, 
enter the canyon, witnessed with horror Jeff’s 
brutal crime, heard him exult over the money, and 
finally saw him leave the scene, after which he 
nervously made his way into the canyon, picked 
up the discarded money-belt and placed it in his 
saddle bag. He noted the initials H. D. printed 

42 


THE REPRISAL 


43 


on the inner lining of the belt and decided to 
keep it for future reference. He could easily 
have caused the criminal to drop in his tracks, 
and you may wonder why he did not do so, but 
in those days men fought their own battles and 
other people’s affairs were considered “none of 
your business.” 

Just as Juan was ready to mount his horse he 
heard the neigh of a horse in the canyon and 
hustling back to his hiding place, saw old Captain 
John, Chief of the Hualapais, and One-eyed Riley, 
a disreputable half-breed, as they rode around a 
bend in the canyon and turned into the trail lead¬ 
ing out the way Jeff had gone. Their sharp eyes 
discerned the disturbed condition of the ground, 
the footprints, the uprooted brush, and finally, the 
partly covered body. 

At a sign from Captain John they dismounted 
and after much exertion managed to drag the 
heavy body from between the rocks to the can¬ 
yon floor. The Captain promptly proceeded to 
rifle Hal’s pockets, in which he found his heavy 
silver watch and a bullet embedded in its case. 
On the reverse side were the initials H. D., ap¬ 
pearing also on the inside of the belt and holsters 
and carved in the handles of the pistols. Hal 
had evidently believed in marking himself well. 
He next brought forth a large purse and inspected 
the contents with a grunt of approval. There 
were several gold pieces, a bill, and some smaller 
change. After much study and deliberation, he 
gave Riley two of the gold pieces, much to that 


44 


THE REPRISAL 


worthy’s satisfaction, and appropriated the bal¬ 
ance to his own use, as well as a pocketknife and 
a few little trinkets. From the victim’s neck he 
took a locket suspended from a thin gold chain, 
inside of which was a faithful miniature of Gwen. 
This became old Captain John’s most cherished 
treasure and constant companion for many years 
to come, for he never tired of slyly opening the 
locket and gazing upon the beautiful face. Satis¬ 
fied that there was no more loot, the Indians 
prepared to resume their journey when a groan 
from the body caused them to halt. In spite of 
Riley’s protest, Old John dismounted, tore open 
the shirt and placed his ear over the heart, listen¬ 
ing intently. Then with a grimy stubby finger 
he popped open, first one, and then the other of 
Hal’s eyelids. Evidently he felt satisfied for he 
rose to his feet and motioned to Riley to dis¬ 
mount. Together they managed to place him on 
Riley’s pony, crosswise of the saddle and started 
for their camp some miles distant. 

It was gettingdark now and the brilliant western 
stars were slowly beginning to dot the heavens as 
Juan stole cautiously out of the canyon and made 
his way with all possible speed to the East Valley 
station of the Diamond Bar ranch, where his 
punchers had already arrived. He was eagerly 
welcomed by the men, for they liked his big 
hearty laugh and humorous nature. It was with 
a wide-eyed start that he greeted Jeff on entering 
the large living-room. Jeff noticed it and for a 
moment lost his nerve, but Juan, now master of 


THE REPRISAL 


45 


his feelings, introduced himself so courteously 
and made Jeff so fully welcome that he thought 
he must surely be mistaken. 

The cook called the men to supper and the 
meal was eaten with gusto and much rough ban¬ 
ter between mouthfuls. During the evening 
Jeff sang many songs to the accompaniment of a 
guitar. He had a rich baritone voice which was 
enjoyed by his very enthusiastic and appreciative 
audience. 

The next morning it was agreed that Jeff 
should ride with Juan and his men to the home 
ranch in Chino Valley at Anvil Rock. Juan had 
not slept much. Long after the men had gone 
to their bunks he sat cross-legged on the edge 
of the veranda, smoking cigarette after cigarette, 
wondering and pondering over Jeff. Could this 
jolly, rollicking fellow possibly be the fiend who, 
so short a time before, had committed a most 
atrocious crime? He would watch and wait and 
keep his counsel. When they started for the 
ranch bright and early, he led the way with Jeff 
at his side. 

Following the trail to the north, they came to 
the canyon, into which they turned. Juan saw 
Jeff give a startled look as he recognized the 
spot and watched him closely as they approached 
the scene of the crime. He had managed to 
maneuver so that Jeff was riding ahead down the 
trail. He saw him stiffen in his saddle as he 
approached the fatal place; saw him, by a mighty 
effort, force himself to look where he knew the 


46 


THE REPRISAL 


body must be. But it was not there. His face 
turned white, but he rode steadily on and the red 
flush of health returned to his face as he argued 
to himself that coyotes or timber wolves or a 
mountain lion had dragged the body to some 
hidden lair far up the canyon. Juan was sure of 
his man now and decided it would be wise to 
keep an eye on him. Far into the afternoon they 
rode, enjoying each other’s companionship; Jeff 
full of anecdote and jolly stories, and Juan fully 
as entertaining with his vast fund of desert lore 
and incident. Nevertheless, there was an under¬ 
current of distrust or antagonism between them 
which was quite discernible. 

Crossing the spur of mountains that cut the 
great valley in twain, they rode into Audley 
Valley or West Valley, in the lower central part 
of which was the home ranch called Anvil Rock. 
They topped a small ridge that extended from 
east to west across the valley and looked down 
upon a scene wondrous to behold. A deep, wide 
canyon ran parallel to the ridge upon which they 
were standing and which they must cross to reach 
Anvil Rock. On the east side of the valley was 
the mountain spur they had crossed, rising higher 
and higher as it approached Judith Range, which 
flung its towering bulk across the valley far to 
the south, and extending at right angles to this 
spur. It was the southern boundary of both East 
and West Valleys. A heavy growth of timber 
covered the ranges, but was sparse on the lower 
slopes. 


THE REPRISAL 


47 


On the western side of the valley, along its 
entire length, was an impassable rocky cliff, ris¬ 
ing to a sheer height of three thousand feet from 
the edge of the valley. These cliffs were covered 
to the very edge by a grand forest of stately 
trees; across the canyon at their feet, the ground 
sloped gently to the floor of the valley, near the 
bottom of which was a massive rock called Anvil 
Rock because of its form. It did resemble a 
huge anvil as it reared its mass of three hundred 
feet in length and a hundred feet in thickness to 
a distance of one hundred feet in the air. Out 
of its very heart burst forth a mighty spring 
of delicious water as large in circumference as a 
man’s body, filling and overflowing a huge natural 
rock bowl and forming a beautiful stream which 
flowed off to the south, losing itself in Trout 
Creek and winding its way to the west through 
the Judith Range. Pretentious barns, bunk 
houses, dining-room and cook-shack were grouped 
to the west of the rock, while east of them were 
commodious corrals. 

On a slight eminence, two hundred feet east of 
the rock, was situated the home of Old Man 
Dunn. It was a massive affair with walls three 
feet thick of solid granite hewn from the cliffs 
to the west and hauled with infinite patience and 
labor to this spot. It was a structure of many 
rooms surrounding a quadrangle, Spanish style. 
A colonnaded promenade of granite slabs extended 
around the patio which was filled with a profu¬ 
sion of rare domestic flowers and set off by a few 


48 


THE REPRISAL 


palms for shade. Easy chairs and two or three 
settees were placed about the inclosure for com¬ 
fort. The various rooms opened on the promenade 
and all the windows were heavily barred. One 
narrow, covered passage, guarded by massive 
gates, led to the outside world. With the ex¬ 
ception of this driveway the house was entirely 
surrounded by a covered porch, fully twenty 
feet wide. 

In the southwest corner of the house were 
Dunn’s library, office and sleeping-room. The 
large library was lined with cases of choice books, 
and on the walls were valuable paintings and en¬ 
gravings. An immense fireplace occupied one 
side. Large easy chairs, a comfortable couch, a 
heavy library table, some bright Indian rugs, and 
two or three skins of wild animals completed the 
furnishings of the room. 

A magnificent view of valley and mountain 
could be seen from the long windows, and Jim 
Dunn spent many peaceful hours here among his 
beloved books. A little, wiry man of nearly sev¬ 
enty years was he, with snow-white hair and 
moustache and delicately moulded features. He 
was plainly a scholar, and an unaccountable yearn¬ 
ing for people, places, and things to do, had led 
to the desire to sell this grand place on which he 
had spent years of infinite care, money, and en¬ 
thusiasm, to bring it to its present state of com¬ 
fort. Many broad acres lying along the little 
stream were in an excellent state of cultivation, 


THE REPRISAL 


49 


the large garden furnishing abundance for the 
tables. 

Jeff was astounded at the magnitude of the 
place and decided he wanted it with all his soul. 
The enchantment of the place had entered deeply 
into his very being. Juan ushered him into 
Dunn’s library and introduced the two men. Dunn 
was quietly cordial in his greeting and made Jeff 
feel at home immediately. He had many ques¬ 
tions to ask of the outside world, and Jeff could 
answer intelligently. Thus they spent a long 
evening discussing many topics of interest to 
both, and before retiring it was agreed that the 
next few days should be given over to an inspec¬ 
tion of all of Dunn’s holdings. 

As Jeff sat in the luxurious room with a de¬ 
canter of rare old wine on the table, smoking 
Dunn’s choice cigars, he saw, in his mind’s eye, 
himself in Dunn’s place across the table, saw 
Gwen where he was sitting, and worked himself 
up into a very satisfied state of mind. The money 
necessary to pay for the place gave him not one 
qualm of conscience as to its source. Not a single 
regret entered his mind as to recent events. His 
primal thought was that an undesirable obstacle 
had been removed and Gwen was free. How he 
would win her he did not know, but win her he 
w'ould. 

This reverie was interrupted by the announce¬ 
ment of dinner, and he followed his host to the 
spacious dining-room, where a commodious table 
was laid with snowy linen, heavy silver, cut glass 


50 


THE REPRISAL 


and delicate china. A bounteous repast, seldom 
found on a desert table, graced the board. Jeff 
was pretty much of a gourmand and glutton, and 
all this appealed to his luxury-loving soul. A 
beautiful Spanish girl, who he learned was Rosa 
Garcia, Juan’s motherless daughter and Dunn’s 
housekeeper, waited on the table. Her large, 
velvety, brown eyes flashed many an admiring 
glance at the handsome guest and once or twice 
their glances clashed and held for a moment. He 
thought her a stunning beauty and to her he was 
a wonderful Prince Charming, such as she had 
dreamed of, and whom she decided to win if 
possible. 

The next few days were occupied in exploring 
the great ranch. Miles and miles they rode, view¬ 
ing thousands of cattle, picturesque mountain 
meadows, and deeply buried mountain valleys rich 
in luscious grasses, until they reached the Judith 
Range, where the spur that cut the valley in 
twain joined and seemed to pierce the larger range 
like a great sword, and was lost to view in the 
dim reaches far to the south. It seemed to form 
a barrier between two different worlds, for its 
western slope as far as the eye could reach was a 
desert in every sense of the word; sagebrush, 
greasewood, cactus and yucca; sand, gravel and 
rock in endless profusion; hills, arroyas, and can¬ 
yons ; rattlers, horned-toads and swifts; centi¬ 
pedes, scorpions, and tarantulas; not a drop of 
water and a pitiless sun in a cloudless sky. 

But what a beauty spot might lie just over the 


THE REPRISAL 


51 


ridge of the dimly discernible ranges in the far 
distances. One never reaches a ridge or emi¬ 
nence in the desert country and looks out over its 
vast stretches without an intense desire to follow 
on and see what lies over the next range or 
through some mighty pass in the mountains. 
That desire satisfied, the next distant range beck¬ 
ons on and the next, until reaching some high 
point of vantage on a mountainside or ensconced 
in a comfortable niche in the rocky cliffs, one can 
look out over thousands of square miles of painted 
desert with its illimitable stretches dipping away, 
seemingly, in a dizzy downward sweep for thou¬ 
sands of feet and miles across, and sloping up 
abruptly on all sides to the far-away foothills, nut- 
brown, golden or green; then on to range after 
range in serried array, of lavenders, reds, pinks, 
delicate blues, or purples; then in the distance the 
higher ranges with their soft greys or mauves 
or dark, velvety browns, their peaks sometimes 
capped with silvery, fleecy clouds. It is a picture 
so vast in its scope that, look as long and as 
often as he may, mortal man’s intelligence can 
never conceive of it in its entirety. You who 
form your opinion of the desert from a car win¬ 
dow of an overland train or as you whizz by in 
an auto, get only a misconception of it all, an 
entirely wrong and inadequate impression. After 
you have lived on it and wandered into its silent 
hidden places, you will discover its wonderful 
charm, fascination and grandeur. And yet, the 
silent places are not silent, for there is an abun- 


52 


THE REPRISAL 


dance of bird and animal life to see and hear as 
well as gorgeous flowers and marvelous stones, 
many of them precious or semi-precious. 

On the east side of the spur, and south of the 
Judith Range, was a totally different country from 
the great desert side. Here lay a monstrous 
valley many miles in extent, thousands of feet 
below the summit of the range. A luxuriant 
forest covered the slopes of the mountains and 
reached far out into the valley. Four mountain 
streams, filled with delicious trout, made their 
way madly down the slopes to the valley below, 
the floor of which was covered with a profusion 
of grasses, belly high to a horse. The more Jeff 
saw of this wonderful country, the more he wanted 
the ranch, and readily agreed to pay the forty- 
five thousand dollars Dunn demanded for it. 
Meanwhile he managed to make clandestine love 
to Rosa and she was completely captivated by 
his attentions. 

Finally the day came when Old Man Dunn was 
to leave and turn the ranch over to Jeff. The 
money transaction was to be made at the county- 
seat, Prescott. Dunn’s employes, who had been 
with him many years, were truly sorry to see their 
kind old “boss” leave them. Then, too, they were 
dubious as to the character of the new boss. 
Dunn preferred to ride to Prescott in a spring 
wagon, which also carried his old, hair-covered 
trunk and carpetbag, and was driven by one of 
the Mexican ranch hands, while Jeff and Juan 
accompanied him on horseback. A two day’s 


THE REPRISAL 


53 


journey brought them to their destination, and 
after securing rooms at the hotel, they went to 
the Courthouse, where the money was paid over 
and the deeds delivered to Jeff, making him the 
owner of the finest ranch and herd of cattle in 
the western country. 

While Dunn was stowing the money away in 
belt and wallet, Juan surprised a look on Jeff’s 
face that augured no good to Dunn. He was 
eyeing him with a greedy, ferocious intensity that 
recalled vividly to Juan’s mind the same face 
when he was in the act of drawing on Hal. And 
Juan became apprehensive of his old friend and 
employer’s welfare. The three dined together, 
after which Juan obviously left for home, having 
bid Dunn an affectionate farewell. When he left 
the room Dunn told Jeff that he was the best 
foreman in the Territory, and it would be wise to 
keep him. Dunn retired early, while Jeff made 
the rounds of the saloons and dance halls, gam¬ 
bling a little and drinking much, and finally de¬ 
cided to retire to his room to think and work 
out a plan that was shaping itself in his mind. 
He was determined that Dunn should not get 
away with all that money when he had so little 
in comparison. 

Riding toward the outskirts of the town, Juan 
turned abruptly off the road and went across lots 
to a darkened cabin with a large corral behind it. 
He knocked on the door with the butt of his whip 
and it was slowly opened by a fat, old Senora, 
carrying a tallow dip in her hand. She became 


54 


THE REPRISAL 


very obsequious as the feeble light fell across 
his face and assured him that her son, Manual, 
would be out directly. A lanky youth soon ap¬ 
peared and bowed very courteously. Without a 
word Juan dismounted and handed the reins to 
the youth, who led the steed into the corral, while 
he hastened back to town afoot. Unseen, he 
finally espied Jeff and followed him from saloon 
to saloon, awaiting impatiently his reappearance 
each time, always careful to keep within the deep 
shadows. When Jeff finally started for the hotel, 
he was close behind on the opposite side of the 
street and saw him stop in front of a little Jewish 
clothing store. A motley assortment of gloves, 
bandanas, old-fashioned dusters, and other articles 
of wearing apparel were displayed on benches or 
suspended by cords under the wooden awning that 
spanned the sidewalk. An idea seemed to pop 
into Jeff’s mind right there. He looked stealthily 
around. Not a human being was in sight, and 
the little old proprietor was in plain view, sleeping 
peacefully in his comfortable chair beside the 
stove in the rear of the store. Jeff was a man 
of quick decisions and Juan was not long in 
doubt as to his intentions in stopping here. 
Snatching up a linen duster and grabbing a ban¬ 
dana, he thrust them into a bundle beneath his 
coat and faded away into the darkness. 

Now that Juan was satisfied in regard to Jeff’s 
game he returned to the corral, rolled himself 
up in his blankets, and slept until nearly daylight, 
when he aroused the old Senora and her son. 


THE REPRISAL 


55 


She prepared a hearty breakfast, which he ate 
with evident relish. Mounting his horse, he cut 
straight across the northern end of town to the 
west, then skirting its boundaries and keeping 
well out of sight, he rode in behind a mass of rocks 
a mile to the south of town, hid his horse com¬ 
pletely, and took up a vantage point in the rocks 
above the road, where it swung for a long dis¬ 
tance in a great arc, hugging the rocky wall on 
its eastern side. As time dragged interminably 
he began to doubt if he had read Jeff’s mind 
aright, but he was a patient man and doggedly 
stuck to his post. 

On reaching the hotel, Jeff had gone directly 
to his room, locked the door, blocked the keyhole, 
and then pulled forth his stolen treasure, tying 
the bandana around his face and pulling down 
the rim of his hat until only his eyes were visible. 
The duster proved a snug fit and when buttoned 
to the chin he thought he would defy anyone to 
recognize him. He tucked the articles under his 
pillow, chuckling quietly to himself as he pulled 
off his boots. Then he emptied his pocket flask 
of whiskey and lay across the bed without dis¬ 
robing. During the night he awoke and saw an 
apparition that chilled the blood in his veins. Hal 
came in through the solid wall, his blood-stained 
face most horrible to behold, his eyes staring 
accusingly at him. Slowly he approached the bed, 
stretching out claw-like hands toward his throat. 
The terror-stricken Jeff crawled out of the oppo¬ 
site side of the bed, tearing and clutching at the 


56 


THE REPRISAL 


collar of his shirt to relieve the strain on his 
swelling throat. In desperation he jerked a pistol 
and pointed it at Hal, who answered with a 
ghastly smile and came steadily on, right across 
the bed. Jeff fired and cried out in terror while 
Hal vanished, like a spirit, through the ceiling. 
Jeff lighted his candle. The door and window were 
locked and there was a bullet hole through the 
wall. He wanted to get out and pulled on his 
boots to the tune of a tumult of hammerings on 
his door and shouts in the hallway. Opening the 
door to the proprietor and a little crowd gathered 
outside his door, he sheepishly confessed he had 
had a hell of a nightmare. 

The rest of the night was spent in the barroom 
with the exception of a short time required to 
smuggle his disguise in his saddle bags. He ate 
heartily of an early breakfast, then mounted his 
horse and rode off to the north, taking pains to 
greet every one he met and making sure they 
saw him riding to the north. He met two horse¬ 
men a short distance from town whom he chatted 
with, informing them that he had bought Dunn’s 
ranch. One of them, Henry Dayley, owned the 
ranch and great herds to the north of Jeff. The 
other was Jack Diehl, Dayley’s foreman, and both 
were on their way to Prescott. 


VI 


The stage came dashing by on its way to Pres¬ 
cott, where a change of horses took place, and 
it resumed its wild dash for Phoenix off to the 
south. The driver and several passengers waved 
cheerily to Jeff as he sat his horse beside the road 
to let them pass. Now he thought his alibi com¬ 
pletely established and turned off toward the east 
until he came to a deep wash that paralleled the 
road to Prescott. He rode down into this wash 
and, hugging the bank nearest to the road, made 
his way swiftly to the south, skirting the town on 
its eastern boundary, and finally came out of the 
wash in close proximity to the place where Juan 
was hiding. 

Leaving his horse behind a great rock, he 
donned his bandana and ulster and surveyed the 
road in both directions from the shelter of the 
rocks. He took out his guns and examined them 
carefully, then waited rather impatiently and 
rather nervously, although his nerves were like 
steel springs, until the stage appeared. It was a 
very quiet holdup. He stepped into the road in 
plenty of time for the driver to make a good stop, 
lined up the passengers, including Dunn and the 
driver, with their hands in the air and facing a 
rocky wall, quickly relieved the unfortunate men 
of their purses, and made sure to get Dunn’s 
57 


58 


THE REPRISAL 


wallet as well as his belt. Valuables other than 
money he did not take. With a poke of his gun 
in the ribs of the nearest man and a gruff “Load 
up. Drive on and don’t turn back,” he started 
them on their way again. Now he hastily trans¬ 
ferred the money to his own person, threw the 
money belts beside the road, and stepped behind 
the rocks, where he had left his horse. Here he 
doffed his disguise and threw it in a bundle on 
the ground. He gave a roar of laughter at the 
ease with which he accomplished the job and 
mounting his horse rode furiously back the way 
he had come. It seemed as though the devil was 
protecting his very own that morning, for as he 
rode up out of the wash to the north of town and 
regained the road unseen, a rush of waters came 
down the wash and completely obliterated all 
trace of his horse’s tracks. 

Juan viewed the holdup with mingled feelings 
of rage and resentment, and was on the verge 
of shooting Jeff a dozen times, both before and 
after the act. But his finger refused to pull the 
trigger. Why was it, he wondered, that he 
could not mete out punishment to this criminal 
as he deserved? It was the same amazing per¬ 
sonal magnetism possessed by Jeff that made him 
a natural leader of men, and that led the clear- 
visioned Hal to trust him beyond measure. This 
Juan did not know. He was no coward, but gave 
up his intent as defeated. Gathering up the dis¬ 
carded duster and bandana, he tucked them in 
his saddle bags and rode straight across the 


THE REPRISAL 


59 


country by a short cut toward the west. It was 
dangerous riding for anyone but the most skilled 
horseman, but it brought him home almost a day 
ahead of Jeff, who rode in just in time for supper 
the following day, apparently in high spirits with 
himself and the world at large. Be it said to 
his credit that he did not place himself upon a 
pinnacle, out of the reach and friendship of the 
common herd. He knew that if he were to win 
Gwen he must make a place for himself in this 
great new country, in order to prove himself a 
worthy mate for her. He was a good “mixer” 
and determined to win the loyalty and friendship 
of the men he came in contact with, but he did 
not realize that his standard of great wealth and 
power were far different from Gwen’s standard 
of right thinking and right living and that it was 
almost impossible for anyone but himself to con¬ 
ceive of her as his wife. 

After supper he invited Juan into the library 
and quizzed him closely as to his duties on the 
ranch under Dunn’s proprietorship. He found 
that he had exercised all the power and authority 
of the owner of the ranch, attending to all the 
buying and selling, as well as keeping the books, 
hiring and discharging the help, besides giving his 
personal supervision to the working of the ranch. 
He also learned that Juan was a highly cultured 
Spanish gentleman and exacted treatment as such. 
Dunn had been an idealist, a dreamer and book¬ 
worm, and was only too glad to have such an 
efficient manager to take all responsibility off his 


60 


THE REPRISAL 


hands and leave him to dream among his books. 
The fact that the ranch was beautified and put on 
a highly prosperous basis was due largely to 
Juan’s efforts. So Jeff, for reasons of his own, 
was satisfied to leave arrangements as they had 
been, with Juan in full charge. From that day he 
never interfered with him and Juan never be¬ 
trayed his confidence in the slightest detail. The 
business and working of the ranch continued like 
clockwork under his skilful guidance, but he 
noticed with increasing alarm Jeff’s influence over 
Rosa, and her absolute worship of him. His heart 
was troubled and his mind would show him no 
solution except marriage, and he knew Jeff would 
scorn such an alliance. He was relieved to have 
him gone from the ranch so much of the time, 
most of which he spent in Dick Franke’s saloon 
and dance hall. Dick was a cold-blooded, bad man, 
quiet to a degree and more dangerous accordingly. 
He and Jeff became great cronies and companions 
and it was about this time that the latter loaned 
him a considerable sum of money, for which in 
lieu of payment when due, he accepted a half 
interest in the saloon and dance hall. 

About this time also, Jeff began to organize 
numerous parties or gangs of unscrupulous men 
who were bound to do his bidding without ques¬ 
tion. No man knew the personnel of any other 
gang but the one to which he belonged. He even 
roped officers of the law into his net. Cattle 
rustling and stage holdup took on an added 
impetus under his guiding hand. Dick soon 


THE REPRISAL 


61 


recognized his master mind and submitted to his 
influence accordingly. 

A large room in the rear of the saloon was 
well furnished and became known as Jeff’s or 

“The Big Boss’s” room. It became so sacred to 
him and his invited guests that they dubbed it 
the “Sanctum Sanctorum.” Many mysterious 
meetings were held here and all sorts and con¬ 
ditions of people were its visitors. Wise heads 
disapproved and shoulders shrugged at the “do¬ 
ings” in that room, but tongues dared not wag. 
Big ranchers, mining men and politicians were 
entertained here or at the ranch in royal style, 
and they courted his favor assiduously. 


VII 


Captain John and Riley arrived at their camp 
in the middle of the night with their unconscious 
burden and were greeted by a chorus of furious, 
yelping dogs, sleepy squaws, and disgruntled 
bucks. They placed Hal on a pallet of blankets 
in John’s hogan, and by the light of a pine torch 
he proceeded to examine him for injuries. He 
first saw the matted mass of dried, bloody hair on 
his head and immediately dispatched his squaw 
for water, which she brought in a bowl of native 
pottery. He foraged about until he found an old 
rag which he soaked thoroughly and then pro¬ 
ceeded to wash the blood from the matted hair. 
This required an endless amount of time and 
patience and was done as gently as though done 
by the tender hand of a woman. He was obliged 
to assert all his authority to drive the rabble of 
curious bucks, squaws, and youngsters from his 
hogan during this process. Hal began to toss and 
moan as Old John continued to uncover and clean 
the wound. He found the scalp cut through and 
a furrow made by the bullet from a point at the 
back of the head and reaching above the ear 
where the bullet was lodged in the skull. At a 
sign from him, his squaw took from an earthen 
jug a generous hunk of salve made from the juice 
of greasewood roots while he prepared the wound 
62 


THE REPRISAL 


63 


by cutting away the hair around it with an old 
pocket knife. Hal was beyond sensation and did 
not feel this otherwise painful operation. Care¬ 
fully drawing the lips of the wound together and 
plastering a generous amount of the salve over 
it, he bandaged it with the same old rag with 
which he had cleansed the wound. His work was 
done. He was satisfied with it and gave Hal no 
more thought than to leave a squaw to watch 
over him and frequently wet his parched lips. 
Then he retired and the camp became as quiet 
as a country churchyard, disturbed only by the 
howl of a coyote or the neigh of a horse now and 
then. 

For many days Hal tossed on a pallet of fever, 
tended by the faithful, old squaws who frequently 
renewed the dressing on his head and wet his 
parched mouth and throat. Then came a day 
when he lay very quiet and peaceful and slept 
for many hours. When he awoke Old John 
tried to question him, but his mind, in regard to 
himself, was a complete blank, his past and his 
identity entirely wiped out. The Old Indian 
pronounced him “locoed,” for his mind remained 
like that of a little child although he gained 
rapidly in bodily strength. It is true he remem¬ 
bered his Greek and Latin, his orations and his 
Shakespeare, and when the fancy struck him, he 
would mount a stump or a log and orate or de¬ 
claim by the hour, much to the delight of the 
whole tribe, who would squat on their haunches in 
a huge semicircle in front of him to listen and 


64 


THE REPRISAL 


applaud. They were kind to him and the bucks 
soon discovered that he was a giant in strength 
and master of all of them in wrestling, running 
and jumping. Thus the days came and went for 
him. 

As his shoes and clothing wore out, the squaws 
made him moccasins and buckskin shirt and 
breeches. Old John promptly dubbed him “Jimmy 
of the Clothes,” a name that stuck to him for 
years to come, and as “Jimmy” we shall know 
him hereafter. His hair was fast turning white 
and had grown below his shoulders, while a mass 
of silky, brown beard almost hid his face and 
covered his breast. At times he would wander 
far from camp, the bucks patiently following and 
bringing him back. They usually found him 
bending over some dainty flower, queer insect or 
curious rock, intently studying it. As time went 
on the old wound in his head seemed a monstrous 
weight and although he remained broad of shoul¬ 
der and retained his great strength and agility, 
he bowed nearly double under the weight of it so 
that he had the appearance of a little old man of 
many years. Only when engaged in athletic feats 
did he stand erect. 

A day came when he was taken away from his 
simple friends, the Indians, and made subject to 
the tender mercies of Jeff, who rode past the 
confines of his ranch and into the Hualapai camp. 
Many of the Indians knew him by sight and 
treated him with respect. As he turned to ride 
back home he espied Jimmy, who was eyeing him 


THE REPRISAL 


65 


curiously, much as a little child might do. The 
presence of a white man here startled and upset 
him. There was always the possibility that Hal 
was still alive, but this little old man could, by 
no stretch of his imagination, be he. He rode 
up close to Jimmy, peering intently into his 
glorious blue eyes, as clear and innocent as those 
of a child. 

“Who are you?” he queried of him. 

“I am ‘Jimmy of the Clothes,’ kind sir.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Why, this is my home and my people.” 

“How long have you been here?” 

“As Jong as I can remember.” 

“Have a drink,” Jeff passed his pocket flask to 
him. 

“What do you want me to do with this?” asked 
Jimmy. 

“Drink it, you fool.” 

Many a thirsty buck standing near was licking 
his chops at sight of the liquor and hoping for a 
chance to get at it. Jimmy was a very dignified 
man and resented being called a fool, even if he 
was one. He angrily set the bottle on the ground 
against a stump and straightened himself to his 
full height, revealing to Jeff a man of mighty 
strength and stature. Before the astonished Jeff 
was aware of his anger, he pulled him from his 
horse and was giving him a good thrashing. He 
found himself as powerless as a baby in Jimmy’s 
clutches, who might have killed him with his 
bare hands, had not Old John heard the commo- 


66 


THE REPRISAL 


tion and forced him by a sharp command to 
loosen his weakening victim. 

“He must not call me a fool,” Jimmy solemnly 
told Captain John. 

“No. You no fool,” John assured him. 

Thereupon Jimmy picked up the flask, bowed 
low to Jeff, and proceeded to drain it to the last 
drop, after which he, very courteously, returned 
the empty flask to Jeff. The whole proceeding 
struck Jeff as being so ludicrous that he fairly 
roared with laughter. 

“How long have you had him here?” he ques¬ 
tioned Old John. 

“Many moons.” 

“Who is he?” 

“No savvy. Him sick. Me make him well.” 

“Didn’t he have any letters or anything to show 
who he was? No pocketbook or money belt or 
coat or guns?” persisted Jeff. 

“No. No clothes. Nothing,” asserted John. 

“You don’t mean to say he was naked.” 

“Yeah, naked. No clothes,” drawled John. 

“It’s damned funny.” 

“What say?” 

“Oh, nothing. See you again,” and Jeff rode 
off to ponder over this strange man and to won¬ 
der. He was worried and decided that he must 
gain possession of him on the remote possibility 
that he might be Hal. 

A few days later he appeared at John’s camp, 
leading an extra horse and easily persuaded Jimmy 
to accompany him home. It was only after much 


THE REPRISAL 


67 


protest on the part of John and the bucks that 
they were allowed to depart, and then on Jeff’s 
solemn promise to take good care of his charge. 
On arriving home they encountered Juan, who 
immediately recognized Jimmy, with whom he 
was a prime favorite, for he had visited John’s 
camp many times. 

“Hello, Jimmy, where are you bound for?” he 
hailed. 

“I shall make my home here, friend Juan.” 

“Do you know him, Juan?” asked Jeff. 

“Yes; as much as anyone does,” answered Juan. 

“I wish you would see him comfortably settled 
and then come to the library. I am interested 
in him.” 

Juan surmised correctly to what extent he was 
interested in Jimmy and knew he was filled with 
doubt and fear. Having joined Jeff, he accepted 
the proffered drink and choice cigar and settled 
himself comfortably to be quizzed and to lie to 
beat the band, if necessary. 

“Where did this Jimmy come from?” Jeff 
began. 

“I don’t know. Old John found him on the 
desert, dying of thirst and badly wounded. He 
brought him to camp and nursed him back to 
health but with his mind a blank.” 

“You say he was wounded? How?” 

“As though he had fallen from a great height 
to the rocks below. His leg was broken and his 
face and body badly cut and bruised.” 

“Old John claims he was naked. Is that true?” 


68 


THE REPRISAL 


Juan could not repress a smile. “Yes; he was 
as naked as the day he was born.” 

“How long ago was this?” 

Juan seemed to ponder over this question. “It 
is six or seven years ago,” he lied. 

“And no inquiry was ever made for him?” 

“No. You know this is pretty much a country 
of lost men.” 

“He has never given an inkling as to his name 
or past?” 

“Not that I know of.” 

“It’s damned funny.” 

“What?” 

“I say it’s damned funny that a man can disap¬ 
pear so completely and never a word of inquiry 
be made for him.” 

“It is strange. I have often wondered about it 
myself,” said Juan significantly. 

“What do you mean?” queried Jeff sharply. 

“Only what I just stated. There are many 
strange happenings on this old desert of ours.” 
He spoke so quietly and was so frank that Jeff 
was nearly disarmed. Now he had something 
else to worry and ponder over. 

After Juan left he settled himself at his desk 
and, braced by his decanter of whiskey, concocted 
what seemed to him a plausible story of Hal’s 
disappearance and death in a letter written to 
Judge Marshall. The finished product read as 
follows: 


THE REPRISAL 


69 


Bergman, Arizona, 

Dear Judge: Nov. 1, 185—. 

I hesitate to write the news I have to send 
to you and dear Gwen, but it must be done, 
and I must be the one to bring to you, dear 
friends, sorrow and suffering beyond measure. 
On the afternoon that Hal and I arrived on 
the edge of this valley, one of the saddle 
horses was frightened by a rattler and broke 
away. Hal mounted another to go in pursuit, 
and it was agreed that he should join me at 
a ranch house which we could see down in 
the valley. That was the last I saw of him 
alive. I arrived at the ranch and waited for 
him. Nightfall came and I decided he would 
show up in the morning. Some of the men 
belonging to the ranch returned to the house 
and I told them of my fears for my partner. 
They seemed to think he had fallen prey to a 
band of marauding Indians and whites with 
which this country is infested. Next day the 
whole party scoured the country for miles, 
but found no trace of him. Posses were or¬ 
ganized and sent out from Bergman, and 
Indian trailers were hired, but to no avail. 
Two days ago a companion and I rode into 
a blind canyon on the east side of the valley 
and there we found the skeleton of a man. 
I identified it as that of Hal, partly by the 
boots and clothing, partly by its stature, but 
mostly by the two gold teeth, one lower and 


70 


THE REPRISAL 


one upper directly above it. His money and 
personal effects were all gone. A bullet hole 
in the skull told of the manner in which he 
had met his death. We sorrowfully buried the 
remains of him who, I have no doubt, was 
my old friend Hal. 

Words cannot express the depth of my 
feeling for both of you who have lost a noble 
husband and son, and for myself who has 
lost the truest friend a man ever had. 

Your sincere and sorrowing friend, 

Jeff. 

Jeff read this letter over with drunken maudlin 
sentiment and actually cried over the recollections 
of his old friend and pal. Then tucking it into 
his pocket, he mounted his horse and rode to 
Bergman, where he mailed it and joined his 
crony, Dick. 

After a short session in the Sanctum, Dick 
came out to the bar. One of Jeff’s cowpunchers, 
Red Barry, a big, red-headed Irishman, was there 
tossing off a glass of whiskey. “The boss wants 
you, Red,” Dick conveyed to him in a low tone. 

Red sauntered back to Jeff’s room. Jack Diehl, 
Henry Dayley’s foreman, entered and Dick 
promptly dispatched him to the Big Boss. Then 
Shorty Allen, one of Dayley’s punchers, and Bill 
Scott, a deputy sheriff, were directed there also. 
Jeff accosted each one with a good-natured smile 
and a drink as he entered, but had nothing to 


THE REPRISAL 


71 


say until the four had arrived. When he spoke 
he directed his injunction mostly to Diehl. 

“I want you to run Jake Huffman’s bunch of 
horses out tonight. Drive them down into Blue 
Canyon by way of the Malapai, and turn them 
over to Don Manuel Mendel, Red Pete and 
Manuel Lopez. The Don will pay over to you, 
Diehl, eighty dollars a head. I figure there are 
five hundred head of as fine horse flesh as there 
is in this country. Bring the money here to me. 
One-half goes to Dick and me. The balance 
splits even among you four. Are you satisfied?” 
Heartily assured that they were, he gave them all 
another drink and dismissed them one at a time, 
so as to attract no attention. 

That night as Jeff slept peacefully in his cosy 
quarters, Huffman’s splendid herd of horses dis¬ 
appeared across the Malapai, to be seen no more 
this side of the border. The four rustlers drifted 
back to their duties, unsuspicioned. Diehl met 
Jeff and paid over to him $20,000 as his and Dick’s 
share of the loot, and divided the other half with 
his pals. 

Huffman went hog-wild at his loss and no one 
sympathized with him more apparently than 
Jeff, or was more active in organizing posses to 
pick up the trail of the lost herd. They scoured 
the surrounding territory without gaining a clue. 
The rustlers were quiet men whose ambition was 
to get “the dough.” They sensibly planted the 
money that Jeff threw their way and waited for 
more. They knew they were only one of many 


72 


THE REPRISAL 


gangs Jeff had organized and ruled with a rod of 
iron, partly through fear and partly because of his 
dominant personality. Through them he was 
piling up an enormous fortune and was a power 
in the land. 


VIII 


With silence and heartache, filled with fear and 
worry, Gwen and her father tried to bolster up 
each other’s courage during the many months of 
weary waiting to hear from Hal. They reasoned 
it took months to get a message from the far 
West and had not Hal warned them that it might 
be a long time before they heard from him again? 
Then, too, a letter might get lost, and Hal was 
as busy as he could be. Thus they tried to cheer 
each other, but Gwen remembered Jeff in a way 
she could not forget. Alone in her room, she 
abandoned herself to despair, growing thin and 
pale. She remained in the house and foreswore 
all companionship except the Judge, the servants, 
and her baby, Madge, which she had borne Hal 
since his departure. The postman sympathized 
deeply with her as, day after day, week after 
week, month after month, she hopelessly asked 
for a missive that never came. 

Finally they were relieved of their suspense 
when Jeff’s letter with its startling news arrived 
at the Judge’s office in the morning’s mail. He 
read it in stunned surprise, hardly catching its 
import. He read it again and this time he under¬ 
stood fully. He jumped to his feet, wildly clutch¬ 
ing the letter in his hand and excitedly pacing 
73 


74 


THE REPRISAL 


the floor. “Oh, my God, my God, my poor girl,” 
he cried. 

A gentle knock at the door was unheeded. It 
opened slowly and a dainty old lady, with a beau¬ 
tiful face, enhanced by a delicate lace cap, entered, 
calmly eyeing the excited, grief-stricken Judge. 
In a deep, rich voice she asked, “Ben Marshall, 
what is the matter with you?” 

He turned with a start and stared very much 
bewildered as he beheld Miss Nell Lounsberry, a 
lifelong friend of the family. 

“I am so glad you came, Nell. Read that.” 
And he handed her the letter. She read it two or 
three times, then seemed to study intently for a 
moment or more. 

“This news does not ring true, Ben,” she fi¬ 
nally announced. “Dear Hal may be dead with¬ 
out question, but I very much doubt this version 
of his death.” 

“But, Nell,” said the Judge, “do you think Jeff 
Melton would commit a crime against his friend 
and chum?” 

“How much money did Hal have?” 

“Over fifty thousand dollars.” 

“And how much did Jeff have?” 

“Between five thousand and six thousand, I 
believe.” 

“Jeff loved Gwen just as passionately as Hal 
did, didn’t he?” 

“I believe so.” 

“And Gwen warned both you and Hal against 
Jeff and this trip, didn’t she?” 


THE REPRISAL 


75 


“Yes.” 

“Well, my opinion is that Jeff Melton would 
stop at nothing to gain his purpose. If Hal is 
dead, he either put him out of the way or had it 
done, you mark my words.” 

“I can’t believe it, Nell. I have known him, boy 
and man, all his life and I never knew him to 
do a dishonorable or cowardly deed in all that 
time.” 

“No. He hoodwinked you just as he did some 
others. He is and always has been a bad egg. 
But this parleying does not help matters. Let’s 
go to Gwen.” 

Gwen, lying on a couch in the library, was sur¬ 
prised to see her father drive home so early, and 
more surprised to see Aunt Nell, as she called her, 
with him. She met them at the door and her 
heart was frozen with fear when she saw her 
father’s face and the letter still clutched tightly 
in his hand. Grabbing him by the lapels of his 
coat, she cried out, “I know some terrible thing 
has happened to Hal. Tell me, tell me, or I shall 
go wild.” 

The Judge looked helplessly at Nell, while Gwen 
shook him almost as she would a child. 

“Tell me, tell me,” she fairly screamed, her face 
wild-eyed and convulsed with terror. 

Nell put her arm around the frantic girl’s waist 
and gently escorted her to the drawing-room. 
“Come with Dad and Aunt Nell where we can sit 
comfortably, and we will tell you all about it.” 
She allowed Nell to lead her to a seat, her father 


76 


THE REPRISAL 


following and muttering to himself, “It’s hell; 
just plain hell. ,, 

“Now tell me, tell me, tell me,” she demanded 
fiercely. And so, as tenderly as possible, Nell 
informed her of Hal’s death. 

“I knew it—I knew it. Oh, why did you let 
him go, Daddy? Why did you let him go?” 

She threw herself on her knees and buried her 
face in Nell’s lap while that dear old soul mothered 
her to her heart. Her terrible paroxysm of weep¬ 
ing ceased abruptly as she rose to her feet and 
held out her hand to her father, who was pacing 
the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Give 
me that letter.” 

He looked to Nell questioningly and she nodded 
affirmatively. Gwen read and reread it several 
times. “This is a lie—an absolute lie. Hal is not 
dead,” she cried out. 

“What?” exploded the Judge. 

“I say Hal is not dead. I don’t know what 
Jeff has done to him, but I know he is not dead. 
Oh, Daddy, we must go there at once. Say you 
will go tonight—tomorrow. We must find my 
Hal. Come—come—let’s go. Hurry, oh, hurry. 
Don’t be so slow,” she burst out into a fit of 
hysterical weeping. 

Nell tried to console her. “Here, here, this 
will never do. You must try to be calm.” 

Gwen uttered a terrible cry of anguish, swayed on 
her feet, and would have fallen had not Nell and 
her father caught her just in time and eased her to 
the couch where she lay as one dead. The fright- 


THE REPRISAL 


77 


ened faces of Old Nancy, the cook, and Henry, 
her husband and man of all work, appeared at the 
door. Henry was dispatched post haste for the 
doctor and Nancy for water. 

Nell and the Judge worked over her until the 
doctor came and it was some time before he suc¬ 
ceeded in arousing her only to incoherency. They 
put her to bed, where she lay in a delirium of 
fever for months. Her life was despaired of many 
times until at last, a day came when she awoke 
her normal self, mentally. It was many months 
more before she regained a semblance of her 
former physical strength. In the meantime, the 
Judge exchanged many letters with Jeff and was 
forced to admit that there were many discrepan¬ 
cies in his stories, for be it known, Jeff was 
generally full of whiskey when he wrote. For 
the life of him he could not remember what he 
wrote in previous letters. No wonder he was 
muddled, and he realized it. 


IX 


More than a year from the time Gwen was 
taken so desperately ill, Jeff received a kind letter 
from her, and, in his egotism, made up his mind 
that she was yearning for him. He told her in 
his next letter than he was planning to visit his 
old home town as soon as he could arrange his 
business affairs. This was really what Gwen was 
anxious for him to do. 

Four months later he called to pay his respects 
and the Judge insisted that he stay for dinner. 
He was as much interested in Gwen as ever and 
could scarcely await the time when he should 
possess her. It made the Judge’s blood boil to 
see him ogle her as he did. By mutual consent 
all conversation regarding Hal was avoided for 
the time being. 

Jeff enthused over the new country, and while 
not usually a braggart he could not resist boast¬ 
ing of his ranch, magnificent home and countless 
herds of cattle. Considering the amount of 
money he had to invest, it seemed to his audience 
that in two short years it would hardly be pos¬ 
sible to swing such a project as he was boasting 
of—unless he had Hal’s money to do it with. This 
thought was in the minds of both Gwen and her 
father as he rambled on. Suddenly he noticed 
their preoccupied air and deep study and realized 
78 


THE REPRISAL 


79 


he had talked too much. Promptly he switched 
the conversation to Gwen’s baby, an unusually 
attractive child. 

“She is the image of you when you were her 
age, Gwen,” he said. 

She awoke from her reverie with a start and 
he had to repeat his words. “Yes; everyone tells 
me so, but I cannot believe I was so daintily 
beautiful as she.” 

“Oh, but you were, and have grown more 
gloriously beautiful with the passing years.” 

Her only answer was a frown, for she deeply 
resented his bold words. What right had this 
criminal, for such she regarded him, to be paying 
her unwelcome compliments? All she wanted was 
to get some tangible clue from him in regard 
to Hal. 

Old Nancy announced dinner, which relieved 
them from an embarrassing silence. It was not a 
lively meal although the Judge tried to enliven it 
with a recital of humorous anecdotes and inci¬ 
dents that had come to his knowledge through 
many years upon the bench. Jeff asked of old 
friends and acquaintances. 

The repast finally over and the little party 
assembled in the library, Jeff knew the dreaded 
ordeal had come. He longed for a slug of good 
whiskey to brace himself, when Gwen abruptly 
asked him to tell them all about Hal’s disap¬ 
pearance. 

It was difficult for him to get started. His 
usual glibness of tongue had deserted him, and 


80 


THE REPRISAL 


after a rambling report of the journey, Gwen 
impatiently interrupted with the admonishment, 
“Yes, yes, but tell us of his disappearance.” 

“Well, you see, we had reached an outlying 
station of the Diamond Bar ranch and were put¬ 
ting up our teams when one of the saddle horses 
broke loose. Hal mounted another horse and 
started after him. That was the last I saw of him 
alive. Posses of cowboys and Indians searched 
for him for months. Finally one of my men dis¬ 
covered his body in a cave in the mountains. 
This was comparatively near the ranch house 
where he left me. I had heard shots that eve¬ 
ning but thought it was only hunters. When my 
man came in and reported his discovery we rode 
at once to the cave, accompanied by two or three 
others. We found his money belt gone and his 
pockets turned wrongside out. There was a bul¬ 
let hole in his temple, but his face was in a fair 
state of preservation, for the air is so pure and 
rare in that country that flesh dries up instead of 
putrefying. We buried him near the cave and 
carefully marked the place. It was the general 
opinion of those present that he was robbed and 
killed by renegade whites or marauding Indians, 
many bands of which infest that territory.” 

Jeff thought he had acquitted himself very well 
when Nell suddenly startled them all with the 
question, “In your first letter, didn’t you say 
you found the body?” 

“Why—a—yes. In a way I did,” he hastened 
to assure her. 


THE REPRISAL 


81 


“And didn’t you say that it was a skeleton 
you found and identified by the teeth?” 

“Why—no—I couldn’t—” 

“But you did,” she said most emphatically. 

Jeff was plainly disconcerted. Gwen’s eyes were 
narrow slits and her face was white with anger. 
The Judge’s expression was horribly stern. 

“And didn’t you also say that you found this 
skeleton in a box canyon?” Nell questioned 
further. 

Jeff tried to retire under a shell of righteous 
indignation, and seeing only a conviction of guilt 
on all their faces kept silent. 

“Answer me,” insisted Nell. 

“Possibly I did.” He tried to speak calmly, 
but made a mess of it. “You see there was so 
much excitement and grief on my part at finding 
my chum and dearest friend a corpse, that I may 
have misstated facts somewhat.” 

“And do you mean to sit there and blandly 
try to make intelligent people believe that his 
body lay in that cave all those months and was 
unmolested by the wild animals that abound in 
that region?” 

Jeff’s temper was at the breaking point and it 
was with some heat that he replied, “I see for 
some unaccountable reason, you are all convinced 
that I, I, robbed and murdered my dearest friend.” 

Gwen, unable to control herself longer, jumped 
to her feet, her eyes blazing. Pointing an accus¬ 
ing linger at him, she burst out, “You have lied 
from the beginning. I knew you would convict 


82 


THE REPRISAL 


yourself if given a chance. Do you think we are 
a pack of brainless idiots?” She stepped close 
to him as he hurriedly rose to his feet. “You, 
you, Jeff Melton, are guilty. If robbery and mur¬ 
der were committed, you performed the dastardly 
act and time will tell.” 

Her voice rose to a shrill pitch. “Out of my 
sight, you Judas, you betrayer of a noble man. 
You are lower than the reptiles and I pray to 
God that your boasted wealth will hang you. Get 
out, before I soil my hands by striking you.” 

He fairly shriveled under her scorching wrath, 
while her father sat with mouth agape and Nell 
stood close beside her, intent on every word 
and move. 

“Curse her,” thought Jeff, “I would like to 
crack her neck between these hands,” and he cast 
such a look of hatred on Nell that, for a moment, 
she quailed, but bravely took a step nearer and 
gave him a defiant, triumphant smile. 

Turning to Gwen again, he said, “You are 
superb in heroics, Gwen.” 

“Go. Go, before I brain you,” she cried, as 
she lifted a heavy candelabra from the table and 
raised it above her head as if to carry out her 
threat. Jeff went, and went in a hurry. 

Gwen had completely exhausted herself and 
experienced a relapse of her former illness, which 
kept her in bed for several weeks. When she was 
finally able to be about she was a semi-invalid 
for years before she recovered her old-time 
strength and vigor. She was now fully convinced 


THE REPRISAL 


83 


of Hal’s death and had no ambition to prosecute 
a search for him. What steps the Judge took to 
fathom the mystery came to naught. Those he 
trusted to investigate the matter were directed 
to Jeff who easily lulled their activities to sleep. 

Thus passed the sorrowful years, and little 
Madge grew to glorious womanhood, the image 
of her mother in her youthful days. Time had 
not dealt kindly with the Judge who was aging 
visibly and becoming very feeble. Unfortunate 
investments were about to overwhelm him, which 
caused him to grieve deeply, not for himself but 
for his idolized daughter and granddaughter. 
The floodtide of financial disaster overtook him 
soon after Madge’s eighteenth birthday, and he 
never recovered from the shock. The kindly old 
man was mourned not only by a myriad of close 
friends but by a whole state. 

When the old family lawyer settled the estate, 
the grand old home was saved to Gwen as well as 
several thousands of dollars, but her income was 
not sufficient to keep up the place as it had been 
kept. Aunt Nell, now an old woman, advised her 
to go to Arizona and search into the mystery of 
her husband’s inexplicable disappearance. Gwen 
pondered the matter seriously and finally decided 
to make the contemplated move if Nell would go 
with her and Madge. 

“Why, I intended to go all the time, Dearie,” 
she assured her. And soon the eventful trip 
was entered upon. 


X 


Jeff’s trip back home was a costly one for him 
in loss of pride, from which he found it hard to 
recover. He knew he had never been so correctly 
judged or humiliated in his whole life. He almost 
hated Gwen and was full of fear for his own 
neck. What if they should get the idea in their 
minds to investigate? 

How happy he was to get to the ranch again. 
It was his home, he loved it and was proud of it. 
And then he had Rosa. He was really fond of the 
beautiful Spanish girl and knew she was his for 
the asking. Now that he was angry at Gwen he 
resolved to have her as his own. 

On his arrival home he entered the house like a 
merry whirlwind and everyone seemed glad to see 
him. In sheer delight, he threw his arm around 
Rosa and bestowed his first kiss upon her lips, 
which made her deliriously happy. He had little 
gifts for all the ranch hands as well as for those 
of his immediate household. To Rosa he pre¬ 
sented a beautiful gold necklace and locket set 
with a diamond; to her Indian maids, calico 
dresses of gorgeous colors, trimmed with bits of 
gay ribbon; for Juan, he brought a handsome set 
of silver spurs. He was not home at the time, 
being away on a tour of inspection in the outlying 
stations. That night he spent in the saddle 
84 


THE REPRISAL 


85 


riding over the velvety turf in the silvery moon¬ 
light. All was serene in his mind; the night was 
superb as only an Arizona night can be, and his 
poet’s soul was drinking in the glory of it. He 
planned to arrive home as the deep darkness that 
comes just before dawn settled over the desert. 
The stars, brilliant lights of the heavens, would 
guide him on his way. As he rode down into 
the inky blackness he shuddered at remembrance 
of the sight he had seen there. 

The first gleam of the coming day appeared 
over the eastern hills when he arrived and stabled 
his horse. Softly entering the great hallway of 
the house, which was dimly lighted by a hanging- 
lamp, he carefully closed the door and prepared 
to enter his own room. What was that? He 
listened intently. The door of Jeff’s room softly 
opened and a slim girlish figure in a long flowing 
gown, her dark hair hanging down on her back, 
stood silhouetted in the doorway as she wafted a 
kiss to the unseen occupant of the room. Juan 
stood frozen with horror. Rubbing his eyes to 
make sure he saw aright, he glided like a cat to 
Rosa—for it was she. He grasped the terrified 
girl by the wrist in a grip of steel that wrung an 
anguished moan from her lips and forced her to 
her knees. He had drawn his gun and stood 
with it clubbed in his upraised hand above her 
head, while she waited during an eternity of dread 
for the blow she fully expected to receive. Her 
father’s face was terrible to behold and his whole 
body convulsed. He lowered his arm, and drag- 


86 


THE REPRISAL 


ging the girl by one hand, his cocked gun in the 
other, he burst into Jeff’s room and covered that 
bewildered scoundrel so suddenly it fairly made 
his head swim. 

“What in hell do you mean by breaking into 
my room in such manner?” he bluffed. 

Juan’s teeth showed in a diabolical grin. “Say 
not a word. Dress before I kill you, Senor Jeff.” 

Jeff jumped for his guns lying on a chest of 
drawers nearby, but Juan beat him to them and 
he proceeded to do as he was bidden. He knew 
Juan was a desperate man. When fully attired, 
he followed Juan to the door of Rosa’s room, 
where they waited until she appeared in her best 
gown as commanded by her father. Then he 
aroused the entire household and addressed the 
assembled members as follows: “The Senor Jeff 
has honored me by asking my daughter Rosa in 
marriage, and that his ardor may not cool we will 
have a simple breakfast and hie our way to the 
good Father John in Bergman to have the cere¬ 
mony performed. Senor Jeff is impatient, my 
good friends, so hurry the merry meal, get the 
wagons ready, and we will be on our way.” The 
little party cheered after this announcement and 
hurried away to their various duties. 

Jeff was standing in open-mouthed astonish¬ 
ment, while Rosa looked up shyly but adoringly 
at him. 

“What the devil do you mean by this?” growled 
Jeff. 

“Just what I said, my son. You are not very 


THE REPRISAL 


87 


desirable as a son, but you will do in a pinch, 
and this is a pinch. Make no false move or I 
will kill you as easily as I would a rattler.” 

The breakfast was eaten amid much hilarity 
among the members of the household, who in¬ 
sisted on the bride and groom sitting close to¬ 
gether. Jeff tried to enter into their merry¬ 
making, but his heart was not in it. Why should 
he be forced to marry Rosa? God—if he only 
had his shooting-irons, he would fight it out with 
Juan, but that fortunate being had possession of 
the persuaders and was master of the situation. 
Jeff realized that he would not be out of Juan’s 
reach nor sight for a second until the ceremony 
was an accomplished fact, so he tried to make 
the best of it. 

Amid much laughter and jollification, the party 
started for Bergman, some in wagons and some 
on horseback, while Jeff and Rosa, as became 
bride and groom, rode together in state, in the 
carriage. Arrived at the priest’s simple cottage, 
they all crowded inside, while that gentle old man 
pronounced Jefferson Melton and Rosa Garcia 
man and wife. At that moment Jeff’s wayward 
heart responded to the love of the girl beside 
him and he planted a genuine lover’s kiss upon 
her lips, then turning to Juan with a good- 
natured smile he grasped his hand in an ardent 
grip, which Juan heartily returned. 

“Greetings, father-in-law,” grinned Jeff. 

“May Godspeed attend you upon life’s journey, 


88 


THE REPRISAL 


my children,” responded Juan, hoping he had 
planned well for his child. 

Jeff and his party now “took over” the little 
town and liquor flowed like water, free to every¬ 
one, and his popularity increased accordingly. 
Late that night Juan dispatched the cooks to the 
ranch to prepare the bridal feast, and the next 
day, accompanied by many of the town people 
and neighboring ranchers, the homeward drive 
began. A wagonload of liquor was taken along 
from Dick’s saloon to replenish the supply in 
Jeff’s cellars. Never was such a hilarious time 
known in the whole country roundabout. 

Martin Auguste, famous in the territory as a 
master of feasts, prepared two delicious barba- 
cued beeves, cakes and pies, tortillas, frijoles, 
tamales and vegetables galore, besides great piles 
of white bread and butter, jams and jellies and 
drinks of all kinds—wines, whiskies and beer, 
coffee and tea, buttermilk and sweet milk. Quan¬ 
tities of cigars, pipes and tobacco, with plenty of 
corn husks for the making, were not forgotten. 
An army of help waited on the crowds to see that 
no one went unserved. 

Races, vaulting, wrestling, jumping, roping, and 
boxing contests were improvised, and an ample 
dancing platform quickly took form. After three 
days of riotous fun, the assemblage broke up to 
return to their various homes. All were agreed 
that there never had been such a time before. 

Jimmy had taken part in the athletic contests 
and won most of them, much to the astonishment 


THE REPRISAL 


89 


of the crowd. The only unpleasant feature of 
the whole celebration was a big, drunk-crazed 
Hualapai buck running amuck in the crowd of 
merrymakers. Jeff told Jimmy to get him, which 
he did most effectively. The buck put up a nasty 
fight for a few minutes and tried to knife Jimmy, 
but was quickly overwhelmed by his opponent’s 
lightning speed, who grabbed his hand in a grip 
that made the buck roar with pain and drop the 
weapon. Then he threw his right arm behind 
the back of his antagonist and drew him against 
his own body as tightly as though he were in a 
coil of steel. With his left forearm under his 
adversary’s chin and grasping his shoulder with 
his left hand, he forced the upper part of the 
buck’s body from him, while his hands were 
clawing the air, his eyes bulging, his mouth open 
and gasping for breath. The crowd did not 
know that Jimmy would break the buck’s back 
when his mighty resistance broke, but Jeff knew 
it and forced him off, for he wanted no trouble 
with the Indians. Jimmy dropped him like a hot 
potato, where he lay as one dead and was revived 
with difficulty. The crowd gaped at Jimmy with 
wonder and admiration. Here was indeed a 
giant, whom the Indians and Mexicans promptly 
dubbed “The Fiend.” Had he not easily bested 
“Black Feather,” the mightiest battler of the 
Hualapai? It must needs be a fiend to do that. 


XI 


With the festivities over and the working of the 
ranch back to normal, Jimmy was assigned as 
cook in one of the cook shacks, and proved 
himself very efficient. The men he served joked 
and plagued him in a sportive way, but he was 
always so courteous and invariably gentle that 
they grew to love him. Nothing did they enjoy 
more than listening to him make speeches. Jeff 
watched him closely for he had so many of Hal's 
peculiar mannerisms and unconscious little habits, 
particularly his delivery when he became ani¬ 
mated. Jeff had known only one man possessed 
of the strength of Jimmy and that was Hal. He 
had also used one of his old friend’s famous 
holds to subdue the Indian. He had the same 
wondrous eyes of blue, but in no other way did 
he resemble Hal. However, Jeff was never 
quite at ease and could find no plausible excuse 
for making Jimmy shave and cut his long, white 
hair or he would have done so. He got on his 
nerves. So did the remembrance of Hal, whom 
he could not keep out of his mind. He became 
morose and drank more than was good for him. 
For hours he would shut himself in his library 
and drink until he was down and out. On these 
occasions, no one dared to enter his den but 
Juan. However, he was kind to Rosa and affec- 
90 


THE REPRISAL 


91 


tionate in a rough sort of way. Every comfort 
and convenience was provided for her, every whim 
satisfied as far as possible. 

Sitting alone in the library, nursing his bottle 
and pondering over Jimmy and Hal, Jeff became 
aware of an uncanny presence in the room. He 
had experienced the same thing several times 
lately and wondered if he were becoming insane 
or getting the tremens, or seeing only an illusion 
caused by a guilty conscience. He felt Hal’s 
presence and sat with bowed head, afraid to look 
up. He drained glass after glass of liquor until 
he nerved himself to look. Yes, there he was 
leering at him with blood-stained visage, from the 
dark interior of the fireplace; now moving stealth¬ 
ily along the bookcases with an enigmatic smile 
on his face; now at his very feet, glowering at 
him menacingly and reaching out bony claws to 
grab him. Nearer and nearer he came. Jeff 
wanted to scream. Every hair of his head seemed 
to stiffen and a riot of cold chills chased each 
other from his scalp to the base of his spine. He 
felt as if he would choke and tore at his collar 
like a madman. When the apparition was about 
to reach him or was surrounding him in myriad 
forms, he sprang over the table, knocked over his 
decanter, and, jerking his guns from their holsters, 
backed into the corner, a desperate man at bay 
from his own delusions. Then at the window 
appeared Jimmy with his innocent eyes and pleas¬ 
ant smile. Jeff emptied both guns at him, hitting 
only empty space, but it brought Juan on the 


92 


THE REPRISAL 


run and it required considerable time and effort 
on his part to calm him. He kept pointing here 
and there, one hand clutching Juan’s arm, as he 
whispered, “He was there with his face smeared 
with blood, and there, sneaking along and grin¬ 
ning at me, and there, trying to get behind me 
and grabbing at my throat with his skinny 
fingers. Then Jimmy sneaked up to the window 
and I shot at him, but he got away. Give me 
a drink, quick.” 

His hands were shaking like a man with the 
palsy when he took the glass Juan offered him. 
He braced up and although it was getting late 
and a storm threatening, he insisted on going to 
Bergman in spite of Juan’s protests. 

As he was about to start he encountered Dr. 
Anderson, from Prescott, in the hall. 

“Hello, Doc. What the devil are you doing 
here?” he asked. 

“Why, I came to care for your wife.” 

“Oh, yes. So you did. Good luck.” 

A tender thought seemed to awaken in him 
as he turned abruptly and entered the room where 
Rosa sat with her women. He strode over to 
her and kissed her long and lovingly. She clung 
to him tenderly, her eyes full of happy tears as 
he stooped and whispered in her ear, “I’ll bet a 
thousand it’s a big, rollicking boy.” 

Rosa blushed deeply and looked up shyly into 
his face. “Let’s hope it’s a girl,” she smiled 
gayly. They laughed together and after a parting 
kiss Jeff was off in the blustering night like a 


THE REPRISAL 


93 


fiend on his favorite horse, “Hell Cat,” singing 
wild snatches of song as he rode. 

Shortly after midnight he arrived at Dick’s 
saloon and joined the noisy crowd in the bar room. 
In an adjoining room several poker games were 
going on and craps, roulette and faro were in 
full swing. The whir of the little ball, the clink 
of poker chips, and the chink of coins mingled 
with the quiet voices of the dealers and the ex¬ 
cited “Come, seven; come, eleven,” of some en¬ 
thusiastic crap shooter. Jeff sauntered from 
game to game, receiving cordial nods and some 
curious looks, for he was not a gambler and did 
not frequent the games. At one table sat Lafe 
Timmins, a big rancher west of Jeff’s place. A 
handsome man was he, as massive in build as 
Jeff, with broad shoulders, set off by a leonine 
head, a mop of long, silvery hair, and a striking 
face. He was drinking heavily and playing with 
men who played only for high stakes. 

“He is a fool,” mused Jeff. “If he is going to 
throw money away to a gang of professional 
gamblers, I might as well get in on the grab 
while the grabbin’s good.” 

Dick had entere'd and could almost read what 
was passing in his mind. Another interested 
spectator had watched Jeff’s steady gaze at Tim¬ 
mins and recalled it later. It was Commodore 
Bowers, the sheriff. He had heard much of The 
Big Boss, but had found no one who could or 
would tell him who that mythical being was. He 


94 


THE REPRISAL 


had long suspected him but not one iota of proof 
against him did he have. 

The Commodore noted men drifting casually 
into The Sanctum until he had counted six. He 
was very curious to know what was going on 
behind that closed door, but maneuver as he 
would he could find no vantage point where he 
could hear a sound from within. Jeff joined the 
six worthies and entertained them royally for a 
few moments, when he said to one of the men, 
“You, Baxter, are in a position to know that your 
boss is handing all his money over to the 
gamblers and will soon be handing over his 
cattle. We might as well relieve him of a part 
of the latter duty.” He had addressed a short, 
stockily built young fellow possessed of a sunny, 
open countenance, as innocent in expression as 
that of a cherub. He was Timmins’ foreman. 

“How many head has he?” asked Jeff. 

“About seven thousand,” answered Baxter. 

“Very well. Run off a couple thousand head. 
Start a week from tonight. Run them down into 
Big Basin where Crooknose Doyle will meet you 
and take them off your hands. You engineer the 
raid, Baxter, but stay home and discover the loss 
to Timmins. Luke,” addressing a fine looking 
young fellow, “you deliver the cattle to Doyle. 
Take the money before you turn them over. 
Bring half to me and split the balance among you 
six. Are you satisfied?” 

“We are,” they chorused. 

“Good. Jack,” speaking to a quiet little red- 


THE REPRISAL 


95 


head near the door, “you open the door wide. 
All of you remain seated—smoking—just visiting, 
naturally and sociably.” 

Jack did as he was told while the men laughed 
and chatted over their cigars and liquor. Many 
an envious glance was cast into the room and 
many inquisitive ones passed the door. Commo¬ 
dore was standing at the bar in plain view when 
Jeff stepped to the door and nodded at him to 
join them, which he did. He was indeed sur¬ 
prised at the richness of the furnishings of the 
room. He knew every one of these men inti¬ 
mately and all were beyond reproach. Of that he 
was sure, and enjoyed himself hugely in this 
genial company. Dick watched them quizzically. 
“Jeff beats the Dutch,” he mused. “You never 
can tell what he will do next. The idea of pulling 
this stunt with the nerviest and smoothest officer 
this side of the Mississippi.” 

When the party broke up and drifted into the 
crowd Dick joined Jeff. “Where do you strike 
next?” he queried. 

“Timmins.” 

“I thought so,” grinned Dick. 

Jeff spent most of the week at Dick’s and went 
home only when he received an urgent request 
from Rosa when he went promptly. The proud 
mother showed him her treasure, a baby girl, 
whom he took gingerly and held awkwardly amid 
much laughter on the part of the women. He 
joined in heartily but disappointed his wife great¬ 
ly when he informed her that it was necessary 


96 


THE REPRISAL 


for him to get back to Bergman at once. ‘Til 
have a wonderful present for this girl of ours 
when I return,” he said and left her. 

He remained in Bergman until the raid was 
completed and Luke handed him twenty thou¬ 
sand dollars as his share in the agreement. On 
his return, he gave this handsome sum to Rosa 
for their baby, whom they named Mercedes. 

The celebration over the birth and christening 
of little Mercedes was nearly as prolonged and 
elaborate as that at the marriage of her parents, 
while the whole territory marveled at Jeff’s 
great wealth and resources. And this little daugh¬ 
ter grew to be a refined and exceptionally beau¬ 
tiful woman, whose path was strangely to cross 
that of young Madge Duncan, venturing for the 
first time into the far-flung, golden West. 


XII 


Gwen, Nell and Madge were all excited over 
the proposed trip. Such bustling about was never 
seen. Gwen leased the old home for a period of 
five years at a good figure and the old family 
servants were to remain with the place. After a 
never-to-be-forgotten day of farewells and good 
wishes from hosts of friends they boarded the 
train for the journey into lands strange and new 
to them. It was a far different trip from that 
made by the earlier pioneers. The Santa Fe 
Railroad Company had built a road into old 
Albuquerque, while the old Atlantic and Pacific 
road was laid from Albuquerque to Barstow, 
where it joined the California Southern road, 
which furnished the finishing link to the Pacific. 
The little old dinky coaches and engines did not 
stack up very well with the luxurious equipment 
and monster engines of today. However, they 
got there just the same after a time and fashion. 

On a balmy spring day when the scent of miles 
and miles of gorgeous wild flowers in full bloom 
was wafted across mountain and valley on the 
gentle breeze, our friends alighted on the graveled 
platform at the town of Bergman, which seemed 
to them a rather small settlement. The long, low 
building at the edge of the platform served as 
freight house, waiting-room and office. About 
97 


98 


THE REPRISAL 


two hundred feet to the west was a railroad 
eating-house. The space along the platform not 
occupied by buildings was lined with giant poplars, 
their low-hanging branches covered with little, 
new leaves. A road ran back of the depot parallel 
with the railroad and directly across this road 
from the depot was Dick Franke’s saloon, dance 
hall and gambling house. Adjacent to it was a 
“Chink” restaurant, then a barber shop, a Mexi¬ 
can restaurant and Wilson’s drink emporium and 
general hell hole. Another road extended north 
from the depot for three or four blocks and trailed 
off into a wide mesa toward the mountains. This 
was Main Street, intersected a block from the 
depot by another street, which was lined with 
about forty little shacks and cottages and made up 
the principal residence street of the town. On 
opposite corners of this and Main Street stood 
Brian’s general store, where anything from a 
toothpick to a church organ could be purchased. 
Opposite this was Summer’s general store and 
Bower’s meat market, while the Cottage Hotel 
occupied another corner. On Main Street, toward 
the mesa, were the Silver Dollar saloon, the con¬ 
stable’s office, corrals and a few scattered shacks. 
The streets were filled with tin cans, Malapai 
rocks, lazy burros, and a host of nondescript dogs. 
A few Hualapai and Supai bucks and squaws, 
some with papooses, were sunning themselves 
on the store platforms, apparently without a care 
in the world. Ranchers, cowpunchers, miners and 
prospectors, Mexicans and whites, and occasion- 


THE REPRISAL 


99 


ally a woman, were drifting in and out of the 
various places of business, or standing in couples 
and groups, just visiting. The saloons were the 
busy places. The bars were crowded and the 
hitching racks were closely lined with saddle 
horses. 

Gwen and her little party stood at the depot 
after the train had gone, looking hopelessly about. 
Four or five men near by were grouped about a 
strapping young fellow who was talking ani¬ 
matedly, and his auditors seemed to hang on 
every word he uttered. Finally came an explo¬ 
sion of laughter, a whirlwind of mirth. They 
slapped each other’s backs or bent nearly double 
in their uncontrollable merriment. The interest¬ 
ing young man was Bert White, prospector, 
dreamer and wanderer by choice, fully in love 
with the desert and also possessed of enough 
income to indulge his fancies in every way. 

He approached the ladies with a winsome smile, 
removing his sombrero with a sweep and a low 
bow. “Can I help you in any way? I see you 
are strangers in a strange land,” he said as his 
eyes beamed on each in turn, then rested on 
Madge. She was sure she had never seen such a 
fine specimen of young manhood and she eyed 
him just as intently. Gwen and Aunt Nell fixed 
their eyes upon him attentively for a moment 
and decided he was a gentleman, and to be trust¬ 
ed. 

“You can direct us to a hotel, if you will,” 
smiled Gwen, “the best one, please.” 



100 THE REPRISAL 

“Glad to do it,” he grinned, “the best one is 
the onliest.” 

They had a hearty laugh at this reply. He in¬ 
sisted on carrying their grips and conducted them 
to The Cottage, a long, rambling building, all on 
the ground floor, with a wide veranda around the 
front and sides. They had no difficulty in secur¬ 
ing rooms, which were neat and clean and very 
comfortable. Since Bert was anxious to be of 
service, Gwen gave him the trunk checks and he 
promised to have their baggage there in jig time. 
As he left the room Aunt Nell looked at him 
rather dubiously and remarked, “That may be the 
last of our trunks, Gwen.” 

Gwen laughed. “I’ll trust him. His face 
radiates goodness and honesty.” 

Madge was indignant at Aunt Nell’s misgiving. 
“I think he is just grand.” 

“Oh, he is good to look upon, I’ll grant, and 
I hope you are right in your estimate, Gwen; 
but this is a regular cutthroat country,” retorted 
Aunt Nell. They were not long kept in doubt 
for in a few moments a wagon stopped with their 
belongings and Bert carried them in. Gwen tried 
to thank him, but he interrupted her. “It is a 
pleasure, I assure you, to be of service. Is there 
anything else I can do?” He was drinking in 
Madge’s beauty and she was stealing shy glances 
at him. 

“Is such a thing possible as getting a furnished 
or partly furnished house in this little one-horse 
town?” asked Gwen. 


THE REPRISAL 


101 


“You will learn to love this little one-horse 
town if you stay long enough, and I think I can 
find a furnished house by tomorrow," he returned. 

Gwen flushed at the rebuke, but thanked him 
profusely for his proffered help. As he made his 
way down the street with long, swinging strides, 
Madge watched him admiringly and burst out with 
“Isn't he just grand?" 

“Who?" asked her mother. 

“Why, Bert—Mr. White," she hastily added. 

“I could not say on such short acquaintance, 
my dear." 

Bert was determined to get a house for them or 
break a hamestring, he assured himself. He 
hustled around to every store, barber shop, res¬ 
taurant, office, and saloon in town and intercepted 
everyone he met. Finally he found a two-room 
shack and his problem was solved. He, himself, 
had the best four-room cottage in town. He 
would take the shack and give them the cottage. 
Immediately he pressed two cronies into service. 
They carried his belongings to the shack, which 
included an elaborate hunting and prospecting 
outfit, besides rugs, pictures and furniture. While 
they swept and scrubbed the floors and scoured 
the woodwork until it fairly shone, Bert rushed 
to Brian’s store to buy new bedding, dishes, kit¬ 
chen ware and lamps, and some oilcloth for the 
kitchen floor was added. Old worn pots and pans 
were put on the ash heap, where the Indians 
reaped a harvest next morning. 

“What the devil’s up, Bert? You’re stepping 


102 


THE REPRISAL 


around like a cat on a hot griddle,” Brian re¬ 
marked after he had made several trips to the 
store. 

“Just brushing up the shack a bit for the ladies, 
Mike,” he flung back, as he hurried out with his 
latest purchases. 

Much time was consumed in arranging things 
just to suit Bert’s fastidious taste. He drove his 
fellows until they were sore, bodily and mentally, 
and thoroughly disgruntled, while he was as fresh 
as a daisy. He told them they would feel better 
when they got over it and dismissed them with a 
good-natured laugh. 

Early the next morning the ladies had barely 
finished their toilets before they heard a knock at 
the door and could not resist smiling when they 
saw Bert’s animated face. “I want to show you 
your new home. Come right along with me. The 
transfer man will bring your trunks.” Follow¬ 
ing him at a brisk gait, they soon reached their 
new abode and were a surprised trio as they in¬ 
spected the furnishings and completeness of de¬ 
tail. They nearly overwhelmed him with expres¬ 
sions of thanks and gratitude for his services, 
which he assured them had been a pleasure. As 
he turned to leave Gwen asked about the rent 
and to whom she was to pay it, to which he 
replied, “Well, you see, this is my place. I bought 
it to help a poor devil out and you can have it 
as long as you want it.” 

“But,—” Gwen tried to interrupt him, but he 
continued, “I have a two-room shack where I 


THE REPRISAL 


103 


stay and do not need this at all. You are welcome 
to it.” 

“See here, my dear boy,” said Gwen, “I will 
not accept this without paying for the use of it 
and for these groceries.” Bert had been so 
thoughtful as to fill the cupboard shelves with a 
varied assortment of necessities such as cereals, 
canned goods, sugar, flour and the like. 

After much pleading on his part and firmness 
on hers, their status as landlord and tenant was 
established. This accomplished, they hustled 
about and prepared breakfast, having persuaded 
Bert to join them. It was a most enjoyable meal 
for all. 

After breakfast Gwen asked him if he could 
assist them in the selection of a saddle horse for 
Madge. To say he was delighted is beyond ques¬ 
tion. While Madge was donning her riding habit 
he went out and soon returned, mounted on his 
own horse, a magnificent chestnut sorrel, and 
leading a mount for her. They were charmed 
with his steed, whose name was Thunderbolt, 
but the one he brought Madge was an old plug, 
too gentle to harm a flea. Madge was visibly 
disappointed and Bert very much embarrassed. 
The contrast between the two horses was so 
striking that they could not resist in joining in a 
hearty laugh, after which Bert led away the re¬ 
jected horse and presently returned with Streak, 
Dick Franke’s pride. He had some misgivings 
about trusting Madge with him, but Gwen assured 
him she was a thorough horsewoman, and so she 


104 


THE REPRISAL 


proved herself to be. Streak seemed to realize 
he was carrying an exceptionally beautiful woman 
astride his back and fairly danced through the 
streets. The people of the little town stared in 
admiration and the saloons poured out their deni¬ 
zens to gape, admire, and leer. Dick and Jeff 
were standing outside when the riders passed. As 
Jeff caught sight of Madge, it struck him like a 
powerful electric shock and he grabbed Dick by 
the arm in a grip that made him wince and look 
up angrily at him as he stood staring open- 
mouthed at her. A vulgar remark about the girl 
by a flashily dressed man at Jeff’s elbow broke 
the spell. He whirled like lightning and felled 
the rowdy with a vicious punch at the jaw which 
sent him hurtling into the middle of the street. 
Before he could move the crowd scattered for 
safety and left Jeff standing like a raging bull. 
His hands were on his guns at his hips, waiting 
the other fellow’s move as he raised himself slowly 
to his feet. He was Devil Craig, gambler, rowdy, 
gunman, and a general tough. That anyone 
should dare to molest him was beyond compre¬ 
hension, for he was no bluffer. He approached 
his antagonist slowly while the crowd looked on 
breathlessly from a safe distance. Both were 
noted gunmen and action, quick and decisive, was 
expected. 

“What did you do that for?” Craig scowled at 
Jeff. 

“Because you grossly insulted an innocent girl 


THE REPRISAL 


105 


and daughter of a dear friend.” He had intuitively 
recognized Madge as Gwen’s daughter. 

Devil stood bewildered for a moment, then 
shook hands with Jeff and bowing to the crowd 
said, “I fully apologize for the remark I made. 
My friend was justified in his action.” 

Dick had stood leaning against a post in front 
of his place, a witness to this spasm of anger on 
Jeffs’ part, and wondered why he had felt so 
offended. When he was beside him again he said, 
“The little lady kind of got next to you, eh?” 

Jeff’s face clouded. “Never mind your com¬ 
ments. Come to the back room.” They were 
seated, Jeff pondering deeply and Dick studying 
his face. “I’d give anything to know what is in 
his mind. Must have cut him pretty deep,” 
thought Dick. Suddenly aroused from his reverie, 
he said, “Who is with her here?” 

“Her mother and aunt, I believe.” 

“Where are they staying?” 

“In Bert White’s house.” 

“Is he staying with them?” 

“No, he bought Riley’s shack and is living 
there.” 

“Good. I think I’ll call on Mrs. Duncan. They 
are old friends from home.” 

“The mother is some looker herself,” ventured 
Dick with a smile. 

“Yes. She was the most beautiful woman I 
ever saw until I saw her daughter.” And with 
this remark he left Dick still wondering. 


XIII 


Bert and Madge viewed the row which took 
place in front of Dick’s place. He had tried to 
hurry her away from the scene, but she would 
not budge. “Who are they?” she asked. 

“The smaller one is Devil Craig. The large one 
is Big Jeff Melton, known as Big Jeff. 

Bert was intently watching the two men and did 
not notice the startled expression on Madge’s face 
at mention of Jeff’s name. 

“Craig is a gambler and all-around bad man,” 
he went on. “Jeff is the richest man in the terri¬ 
tory, owner of the Diamond Bar Ranch, politician, 
gunman, good fellow and an enigma.” Glancing 
at his companion, he saw her staring at Jeff, her 
face as white as death. “Why, what is the mat¬ 
ter, Madge? Are you ill?” 

She seemed not to hear him, but continued to 
stare like one in a trance. He touched her arm 
at which she turned with a surprised smile. “It is 
nothing. Melton is an old friend of the family 
and I was startled at seeing him for the first 
time under such circumstances.” 

They resumed their way, turning to the north¬ 
west when clear of the town, and struck a great 
mesa which stretched to the foot of the moun¬ 
tains many miles away. The turf beneath their 
horses’ feet was as firm as a city pavement, but 
106 


THE REPRISAL 


107 


springy. The desert air was gloriously crisp. 
Their horses, unurged, struck a long, distance- 
devouring stride. The delicate blush had returned 
to Madge’s cheeks. Mile after mile they rode, 
happy in each other’s company, exhilarated by 
the ride. The almost incredible speed they were 
making fairly took their breath away, making 
conversation impossible. 

At the foot of the mountains near a big water 
hole, they drew rein. Bert quickly dismounted 
and reached up to assist his delightful companion. 
She came into his arms, where he perceptibly held 
her for a moment, their faces flushed as he re¬ 
leased her. 

“Oh, that was the most glorious ride I ever 
had,” she cried. “I just love it here.” 

“So do I,” he answered, “and everything in it,” 
and he looked admiringly at her, whereat she 
blushed and looked demurely away as she stroked 
Streak’s glossy neck. When their horses were 
thoroughly rested they sprang lightly into their 
saddles and entered the mountains through a great 
pass that wound between blue granite walls on 
one side, and on the other, red and yellow sand¬ 
stone walls rising for thousands of feet from the 
rock-strewn floor of the pass. A ride of four 
miles brought them out into a wide, spreading 
valley, stretched out before them like a huge, 
green, velvet carpet, and surrounded by low 
mountain ranges, beyond which could be seen 
loftier ones, and beyond still loftier, timber-cov¬ 
ered ranges, whose rocky ridges towered far 


108 


THE REPRISAL 


above the timber line. A group of ranch build¬ 
ings near the mouth of the pass ended their 
journey. 

“What a beautiful, beautiful place,” ejaculated 
Madge, as she sat her horse, absorbing the allur¬ 
ing landscape before her. 

“Yes, it is pretty,” he answered, “but wait 
until you see the Diamond Bar and Anvil Rock. 
I doubt if there is a scene in the world to sur¬ 
pass it.” He “holloaed” two or three times, when 
a man from the ranch house appeared and came 
leisurely toward them, raising his hat courteously 
at sight of Madge who observed he was tall 
and dark and would have been handsome except 
for the tell-tale marks of dissipation. After greet¬ 
ing Bert cordially and being introduced to Madge, 
Bert explained their mission. 

“We came to see if you would sell Satin to 
Miss Duncan, Henry. She wants to buy a saddle 
horse and Satin is most desirable.” 

“Satin?” he said, staring at them. 

“Yes,” Bert assured him. 

“Satin? Satin?” he reiterated. “Why, I love 
Satin.” The speaker was Henry Dayley, owner 
of this ranch, the Circle C. It was a beautiful 
ranch, but wine, women and cards were fast 
eating it up, as well as his great herds of cattle. 
His eyes filled with bitter tears and he bit his 
lips. “Bert knows I need money, damn him, 
and he is tempting me,” he soliloquised. Madge 
saw the pain in his tear-dimmed eyes and said 


THE REPRISAL 


109 


cheerfully, “Oh, do not sell him if you love 
him so.” 

“Where would you take him if I let you have 
him?” 

“Why, you see, we’re going to live in Berg¬ 
man.” 

Bert sat silently waiting. “The money will 
get him,” he thought, but was unprepared for 
Dayley’s decision. 

Without a word he hastened to the barn and 
soon returned with the most beautiful horse that 
Madge had ever laid eyes on—a big, powerful 
animal with the richest, cream-colored satiny 
coat possible to conceive. His snow-white tail 
swept the ground, and he had kind, intelligent, 
brown eyes. 

Quickly dismounting, she threw her arms 
about his beautiful neck. “Oh, you beauty, you 
beauty,” she cried. “No wonder you love him, 
Mr. Dayley.” 

His face lighted up at her praise of his favor¬ 
ite. “There is nothing in the shape of horseflesh 
that can touch him for beauty, speed, endurance, 
and pedigree, in this whole country. He is a 
thoroughbred Arabian desert horse, and—and—” 
he gulped, “and I am giving him to you.” 

Bert’s jaw dropped and he gazed in amaze¬ 
ment at Dayley. He knew that Jeff and others 
had offered fabulous amounts for this horse and 
had been refused. 

“Oh, I couldn’t accept him that way,” Madge 
hastened to assure him. 


110 


THE REPRISAL 


“Oh, yes, you could,” he said very decidedly, 
“and I will tell you why. Some day, someone 
unworthy to even touch him will tempt me 
with money as they have done many times be¬ 
fore and if I am hard pressed for money I will 
weaken and sell which will break his heart and 
mine. So I ask of you as a personal favor to 
Satin and me, that you take him and love him 
as I have always done. I will be able to see him 
whenever I wish. Now take him away, I beg 
of you.” His voice was near the breaking point 
as he looked appealingly to her. 

Madge was bewildered and looked from Day- 
ley to Bert who still sat his horse. “Yes. Take 
him, Madge. Dayley is right. It will make 
both of you as well as Satin, happy.” Then 
placing his hand on Dayley’s shoulder, he said, 
“If you ever need me, Henry, be sure to call on 
me and I will gladly help you.” 

Dayley grasped his hand in a grip that fairly 
made him wince with the reply, “Thank you, 
Bert,” and hurried into the house without a 
backward look. 

It was late afternoon when they reached 
home. Gwen and Nell pronounced Satin the 
most beautiful creature they had ever seen, but 
Gwen was very much opposed to accepting him 
according to agreement and yielded only when 
Bert told her of Dayley’s impending ruin. 

Jeff lost no time in calling on her with his 
most ingratiating manner. She and Aunt Nell 
received him very coolly, having discussed the 


THE REPRISAL 


111 


probability of his visit. He was not outwardly 
abashed at their reception, but jovially offered 
his services and cordially invited them to visit 
Anvil Rock. Aunt Nell rather abruptly informed 
him that it was highly improbable that they 
would, to which he laughingly replied that 
they would have cause for regret if they failed 
to visit that wonderful spot. The constant 
picture of Madge in all her girlish beauty served 
to keep him in good humor until he took his 
leave. 

On his way back to the saloon he was ac¬ 
costed by two hometown worthies of earlier 
days, Lafe Stewart and Andy Wight. They were 
typical crooks and a little “seedier” in appear¬ 
ance than when Jeff last saw them. However, 
he recognized them at once and greeted them 
cordially, inviting them back to his room. 

“Whew,” ejaculated Andy on entering the rich 
apartment, “you’ve sure got some dump here.” 

“Yes, it’s comfortable,” answered Jeff. “Be 
seated.” 

He got out glasses and a decanter of whiskey 
while his guests were exchanging knowing 
winks and grimaces behind his back, as they 
thought, but perfectly visible to him in a big 
mirror over his cabinet. A scowl clouded his 
face, but disappeared as he faced them. An evil 
thought entered his mind as to how he might 
use them to good advantage in the future. 

“This country seems to have treated you 
pretty fine, Jeff,” ventured Lafe. 


112 


THE REPRISAL 


‘‘Yes, it is my country. I own it and its peo¬ 
ple, body and soul. Don’t forget that fact if 
I decide to use you.” 

“We sure won’t,” they answered in unison. 
Giving them a generous amount of money, he 
told them to get a room and keep their mouths 
shut. They stopped to get a few drinks at the 
bar and Andy became talkative. He began to 
boast of what their friend, Big Jeff, was going 
to do for them, and Stewart was unsuccessful 
in keeping him quiet. A long, lanky cowboy 
slouched over to them. “Yer newcomers hyer, 
ain’t cha?” he asked. When they assured him 
that they were, he invited them over to the 
window. “D’ ya see that little hill over yonder 
with th’ little boards a stickin’ up in rows?” 

“Yes.” 

“Wall,” he went on, “thet’s th’ Big Boss’ 
privut buryin’ ground. Most o’ the guys planted 
thur talked tu much, un he got tu hear it. 
Savvy?” 

They stared at him and “savvied.” 

“I’m a tellin ’ya fer yer own good,” and he 
turned away, leaving them to their own devices. 
A word to the wise seemed sufficient, for they 
started at once in search of a square meal and a 
lodging place. 


XIV 


One Saturday morning Juan and Mercedes 
rode into town on their horses, while Rosa came 
in the carriage. They sauntered from store to 
store making a few purchases and stopping 
occasionally to talk with friends. They had 
just come out of Brian’s store when Bert, ac¬ 
companied by Gwen, Aunt Nell and Madge were 
about to enter. Mercedes’ black eyes lighted up 
at sight of Bert, but changed quickly as she 
saw the strikingly beautiful Madge with him. 

“Hello, Juan, you old rascal,” cried Bert, 
grasping the smiling Juan by the hand. 

“Hello yourself. It’s you that are the 
stranger,” grinned Juan. 

Bert at once introduced his friends to each 
other. When he presented Madge to Mercedes 
he said, “I want you girls to be good chums.” 
Mercedes had drawn herself up haughtily and 
fire seemed to dart from her eyes at his words. 
She turned to Madge, every line of her body, 
every feature of her face expressing utter con¬ 
tempt. “Ah, Miss Duncan, it is perfectly evi¬ 
dent why Mr. Bert White is a stranger in our 
home,” she snapped, and walked rapidly away. 

Juan and Bert were astonished and humiliated, 
as was Rosa; Gwen was amused, and Aunt Nell 
and Madge highly indignant. Bert tried to 
113 


114 


THE REPRISAL 


smooth it over, but the incident broke up the 
happy party. Juan excused himself and went 
to the corrals; Rosa entered her carriage after 
extending Bert’s party a cordial invitation to 
visit Anvil Rock. Bert accompanied the ladies 
home and then returned to his shack very much 
ruffled. 

Madge felt as though her heart would break. 
What was this Spanish girl to Bert that she 
should dare to publicly humiliate him? Then 
she remembered that she was the daughter of 
the wealthiest and most powerful man in the 
territory. 

Gwen’s only comment was to Aunt Nell, “So 
that is Jeff’s wife, is it?” in a tone that was not 
complimentary and wholly unjust, for Rosa was 
really a refined and attractive woman. 

Jeff had Lafe and Andy in his room when 
Bert and the ladies passed on their way home¬ 
ward. Calling them to the window he asked, 
“Do you see that girl in white with Bert?” 

“Why, that is Mrs. Duncan, daughter of Judge 
Marshall, and her daughter Madge,” they ejacu¬ 
lated almost with one breath. 

“Ah, so you know them. Of course, you do, 
living in the same town with them. Very well— 
I am paying you to get the girl, Madge, and 
God help you if you let out a blat.” He gave 
them a nasty look, then continued, “I want you 
to get her and take her where I tell you to, and 
when I tell you to. I’ll kill both of you if you 
harm even a hair of her head.” 


THE REPRISAL 


115 


They were staring at him open-mouthed. 

“You go to the ranch with me tonight and 
I’ll fix you up with good mounts, clothing, bed¬ 
ding, ammunition and guns. Then I’ll show you 
a trail that I want you to learn, going and com¬ 
ing, so you can travel day or night, blindfolded 
or seeing.” 

He smiled genially at them when they assured 
him they were his, body and soul, through thick 
and thin. After giving them a drink, he divided 
five hundred dollars between them and dismissed 
them until he was ready to call for them. Arrived 
at the ranch, he gave them good, powerful horses 
and a complete outfit of everything required for 
their comfort. It must be said of him that he 
was extremely kind to the men who served him 
well. 

It was Madge’s pleasure every evening, to 
walk to the eastern outskirts of the little town 
and, seated on a big rock, gaze at the grandeur 
of the wonderful Arizona sunsets. Sometimes 
Aunt Nell, sometimes Gwen, and occasionally 
both, accompanied her, but she enjoyed being 
alone. On the evening of Mercedes’ indignity 
toward her, she went as was her custom, but 
sad at heart. She saw naught of the vivid blue, 
the molten gold, the gorgeous crimsons and 
purples of the beautiful sunset, for a mist of 
tears blotted them from her sight. As she sat 
there very much depressed Bert came up behind 
her and gently spoke her name. Drying her 
tears, she gave him an icy look and started for 


116 


THE REPRISAL 


home, while he vainly tried to explain the un¬ 
pleasant circumstances which occurred that day. 
When they reached the gate of her home she 
turned wearily from him saying, “You must let 
me get over this in my own way, Bert,” and 
left him staring at the door. They did not know 
that Mercedes had stealthily followed them, 
burning up with hate and jealousy, and swear¬ 
ing to herself to kill her, Kill her, KILL her. 

Four of our friends were astir early next 
morning; Juan, because it was his usual custom; 
Bert, sore at heart because he had passed a 
miserable, sleepless night. He decided to go 
for a long ride in the mountains and take his 
camping outfit with him. As he was walking 
toward the restaurant leading Thunderbolt, he 
saw Juan open a corral gate, leading his horse 
also. There was genuine affection between these 
two men and they greeted each other accord¬ 
ingly. Juan knew Bert liked Mercedes as a 
jolly chum only. He also knew that she was 
madly in love with Bert, and his heart ached 
for his beloved granddaughter. Until just re¬ 
cently Bert never suspected her of being in 
love with him and it saddened him because she 
had been a jolly companion on many a long 
ride or mountain hike, adding a bright bit of 
sunshine in his life. 

The two men enjoyed their breakfast, eaten 
leisurely, then lighted their cigars and walked 
out. “Where to this beautiful morning, Bert?” 
asked his friend. 


THE REPRISAL 


117 


“I hardly know, Juan. I want to get away for 
a few days into the big outdoors where there 
are no heartaches,” he answered dejectedly. 

“You had better ride with me to the ranch. 
I will cheer you on the way and you will recipro¬ 
cate in full measure,” and he smiled engagingly 
at his companion. 

“There is no better remedy to be had; I’ll just 
take you up,” he returned with an expression 
of gratification. Mounting their horses they 
sauntered along in the direction of Anvil Rock, 
chatting and laughing. 

Now Madge and Mercedes both had their par¬ 
ticular reasons for being out early this particular 
morning. Both were unhappy and had spent 
sleepless nights. Both tiptoed about as noise¬ 
lessly as possible getting light breakfasts, Madge 
in her own home and Mercedes at the home of 
the friend where she had spent the unhappy 
night. Madge slipped out of the house first, 
mounted Satin, and set out, she knew not 
whither, only to ride, ride, ride until heartsease 
came. She rode to the southwest toward Anvil 
Rock, down Audley Valley, but her heart was 
too heavy to enjoy the beauty of the surround¬ 
ings. Her handsome steed stretched out into a 
wonderful gait and she just rode and rode until 
mile after mile was covered, unheeded. She 
was conscious only of an intense yearning for 
one whom another seemed to have won. 

Poor little Mercedes, her heart aflame with 
love unrequited and with hatred toward the 


118 


THE REPRISAL 


beautiful girl who had stepped into Bert’s life, 
saw her ride by on Satin. This was another 
spark added to the fire of animosity in her 
bosom, for had she not desired Satin above all 
things? Her daddy had offered Dayley an enor¬ 
mous price for him, but without avail. Now she 
was riding him, she whom Mercedes hated and 
fully determined to kill. All thoughts of break¬ 
fast left her at that instant and in a few mo¬ 
ments she had her own horse bridled and saddled 
and was off at breakneck speed in pursuit of her 
rival. As she rode on and on she frequently 
felt the hilt of a long stiletto that she carried 
in her girdle. 

Juan and Bert, rounding the mountain spur 
and turning into Audley Valley, observed the 
two speeding horses far ahead of them, seem¬ 
ingly separated by only two or three miles, but 
in reality five or six miles apart. It appeared 
so much like pursued and pursuer that both men 
clapped their field glasses to their eyes and both 
made the same discovery. Juan instinctively 
comprehended the drama being enacted before 
their eyes and was off like a shot, yelling to 
Bert to come on. Then he, too, understood and 
was soon pounding alongside of his frantic com¬ 
panion; both men were riding like fiends, each 
with a prayer on his lips. What a race it was; 
pursued and pursuer being pursued; four mar¬ 
velous steeds striving to the utmost in their 
power to keep up the killing pace; over hill, over 
dale, first one, then another of the riders dis- 


THE REPRISAL 


119 


appearing over the top of a hill to rapidly rise 
and top another. 

Madge unconsciously slowed down to a walk 
as she approached the long hill leading to the 
top of the great canyon’s rim from which one 
could look down upon Anvil Rock. Mercedes 
noticed her slackening speed, and with whip 
and spur urged her horse on in a very frenzy 
of triumph. Both men groaned in unison and 
spurred their horses on until their rowels ran 
red with blood. Then Thunderbolt bolted with 
a snort of rage at the cruel punishment, leaving 
Juan far behind. How ardently he prayed that 
Bert would not be too late. 

As Madge reached the rimrock of the canyon 
she gazed upon as glorious a scene as lies under 
God’s fair skies. Her artist’s soul awoke to the 
beauty of it all and she worshipped as only a 
nature lover can, her heart filled once more with 
peace. Securing Satin to a scrub oak where 
he could nibble luscious grass, she walked back 
some distance from the road, where she found 
a natural rock seat—back, arms and all—over¬ 
looking the canyon and valley beyond. Here 
she seated herself and leaned back to enjoy the 
view to her heart’s content, unconscious of the 
raging little devil on her trail. 

Mercedes’ horse, unable to hold the terrific 
pace she had set for him, staggered and nearly 
fell at the foot of the long hill. Quickly dis¬ 
mounting, she threw the reins over his head and 
hurried up the hill afoot, keeping to the brush 


120 


THE REPRISAL 


beside the road. Near the summit she espied 
Satin beside the canyon road. Seeing nothing 
of his rider, she skirted the rimrock, being care¬ 
ful to keep below the brow of the hill. She 
moved as stealthily and as noiselessly as an 
Indian until she reached a crevice in the rock 
where she could peer down into the canyon. 
Lying flat on her stomach, with the stiletto be¬ 
tween her teeth, she looked with venomous hate 
down upon Madge, who seemed to feel the 
power of her presence, for she stirred uneasily 
and looked around as if affrighted. She partially 
arose from her comfortable seat, then reassured, 
she resumed her meditation while Mercedes 
squirmed and wriggled herself until she reached 
a point about fifty feet up the canyon behind 
her object of pursuit. Then she let herself down 
over the rimrock and stealthily made her way 
along the ledge which extended parallel with it. 

But, as you all know, a kind Providence often 
intervenes to protect fools and angels, and this 
time it interposed in behalf of an angel. There 
had recently been heavy rains and the water- 
soaked earth needed only Mercedes’ weight to 
start the ledge toward the canyon. A tiny fis¬ 
sure opened along the foot of the rimrock and 
widened as it grew rapidly in length. Engrossed 
with the thought of her victim almost within her 
grasp, Mercedes did not see the warning cleft 
until she was startlingly made aware of her 
danger by a sensation of the ground giving way 
beneath her feet. As quick as a flash, she 


THE REPRISAL 


121 


grabbed for the brush at the foot of the rim- 
rock, but missed. With a shriek that could be 
heard above the noise of tons of falling rock and 
dirt, she disappeared with it into the canyon. 

Madge jumped to her feet and looked around in 
time to see the terror-stricken face of the girl 
as she rolled over the edge of the canyon. She 
was paralyzed with horror, but only for a mo¬ 
ment. Creeping on her hands and knees, she 
peered into the canyon and there, twenty feet 
below, caught by her blouse on an outjutting 
rock, she saw the frightened and horrified girl 
holding up appealing hands in speechless agony 
of suspense. She jumped to her feet and ran as 
fast as they would carry her to her horse, 
leading him very carefully along the edge of the 
canyon and just as carefully turning him around 
with his flanks to the edge. Quickly taking her 
lariat from the pommel of her saddle—Bert had 
laughingly insisted that she have one—she 
opened wide the loop and slowly let out the 
rope until it settled over Mercedes’ shoulders and 
she had secured it under her arms. Then she 
led Satin tow r ard the road until the rope drew 
taut and called down, “You are fastened to 
Satin’s saddle and I am going to have him pull 
you out slowly.” 

“Yes, yes, hurry,” was Mercedes’ frantic appeal. 
Slowly and carefully she was raised to the sur¬ 
face, but fainted as soon as she was on solid 
rock again. Thus Bert and Juan found them. 

Bert had reached the foot of the hill when he 


122 


THE REPRISAL 


heard the roar of the sliding earth and rocks in 
the canyon and above it a wild shriek that made 
his blood run cold. He felt sure it was Madge 
and urged Thunderbolt up the incline, jumping 
to the ground before the horse had fairly stopped, 
to peer over the top of the rimrock. Here he 
saw Madge on her hands and knees beside the 
unconscious girl, trying to revive her. As she 
saw him she sprang to her feet with a glad 
cry and rushed into his outstretched arms, while 
a sob of relief shook his whole body. Then 
remembering the unconscious Mercedes they 
quickly brought the canteen of water from 
Satin’s saddle and bathed her temples. 

Poor old Juan, full of grief and terror for he 
knew not what, appeared at this time. He fell 
to his knees and with clasped hands thanked 
God that a crime had been averted and the girls 
were safe. As Mercedes came to and looked 
up into Bert’s face an expression of love and 
happiness radiated from her eyes, but when she 
caught sight of Madge and Juan it changed to 
one of disappointment and she became convulsed 
with weeping. 

The first excitement over, Madge related the 
story of her experience and then Mercedes told 
her version of it, causing her audience to gasp 
at the cold-blooded thing she actually planned 
to do. Her story finished, she buried her face 
in her hands and wept as though her heart would 
break. Juan tried to calm her while Madge 
knelt beside her and spoke words of comfort 


THE REPRISAL 


123 


and cheer. Finally, smiling through her tears, 
she asked, “Can you forgive me after what I 
attempted?” 

“Absolutely,” replied Madge, “and we will be 
the best of friends.” 

They sealed their new friendship with a kiss 
and joined the men who had drawn aside. Ap¬ 
proaching Madge, Juan doffed his hat and took 
her hand in his, saying, “Miss Duncan, you 
have this day shown a nobleness of spirit and 
forgiveness seldom equalled, and by your act 
of heroism have placed me and mine under an 
obligation I can never hope to repay. From this 
day you have but to command me and I will 
gladly, willingly sacrifice my life, if need be, 
to serve you.” 

Madge was embarrassed and replied, “I have 
indeed won a noble friend, for which I am truly 
grateful.” 

Juan begged his friends to accompany them to 
the ranch for dinner and Mercedes, too, pleaded 
so earnestly that they gladly accepted, and were 
soon on their way, stopping occasionally for one 
or the other to point out some beauty spot from 
a new vantage point. 

Jeff was sitting on the large south porch when 
the party arrived and was so surprised at the 
unexpected sight of Madge that he dropped his 
big meerschaum pipe, shattering it into a dozen 
pieces. He did not realize how intently he was 
gazing at her until he heard Mercedes say, 
“Why, Daddy, how impolite for you to stare so.” 


124 


THE REPRISAL 


He smiled his old genial smile and rose to his 
feet as he welcomed Madge with all gracious¬ 
ness, greeted Bert cordially and grunted at Juan, 
who returned the compliment with a frown. 
Rosa came in and welcomed the guests and im¬ 
mediately set about to prepare a luncheon for 
the hungry travelers, while Mercedes dragged 
Madge all over the big house, barns and corrals. 
As they passed the cook shacks they encountered 
Jimmy making a flowery speech to a group of 
grinning cowpunchers. With expressions of 
bold admiration all eyes were turned on Madge, 
much to her discomfiture, while Jimmy de¬ 
scended from his box and approached them. 
Madge drew back but her companion assured 
her he was harmless old Jimmy. As he bowed 
with courtly grace Mercedes giggled, but Madge 
respectfully returned the bow. 

“And who may this lady be?” he asked of 
Mercedes as he gazed steadily into Madge’s 
eyes and repeatedly brushed his hand through 
his mop of hair. 

“Oh, that’s the queen, and you may bring her 
majesty a drink of water, Sir Galahad.” This 
reply caused a merry peal of laughter from 
Madge and a series of guffaws from the punch¬ 
ers, together with yells of “The queen sure is all 
right,” which made her ears burn and disgusted 
her so much that she led Mercedes back to the 
house, where they found Bert and Jeff on the 
south porch, smoking and gazing at the vast 
stretch of country before them. The scene 


THE REPRISAL 


125 


seemed to affect all alike. Jeff broke the silence, 
“Do you like it, Miss Duncan?” 

“Oh,” she replied, “it is beyond human praise. 
My vocabulary is too limited to describe it ade¬ 
quately.” 

“You are right. I have traveled far and near 
and have never seen its equal. For several 
years I have admired its beauty and grandeur 
and never tire of it.” 

Lapsing again into silence, they viewed in¬ 
tently the miles of bright valley to the great 
rock range that reared its bulk across the south¬ 
ern extremity, bathed in crimson mists, while 
the towering cliffs that bordered the west were 
the bluest of blue, their forested crests fringed 
with a seeming lacework of black and green. 
The foothills to the east were green with lus¬ 
cious grasses and dotted profusely with bright 
rock lilies, wonderful cactus blooms of varied 

hues, great white clusters of yucca blossoms 
and dark green mountain holly and juniper. 
Along the ridges the forest faded gradually into 
dark shadows. 

The beauty of this familiar scene did not fas¬ 
cinate Jeff as it usually did, for his eyes were 

riveted on Madge. He was living over again 

the time twenty years ago when he loved the 
mother of this charming girl and lost her to his 
friend. “I will live it over again with her,” 

he promised himself. 

Juan did not fail to see the devilish lust ex¬ 
pressed in Jeff’s face and was sore afraid for 


126 


THE REPRISAL 


Madge. A frantic desire to kill took possession 
of him. He wanted to kill this man whom he 
knew to be a criminal, a murderer at heart, and 
a despoiler of virtue. 

Luncheon was announced and all enjoyed the 
delicious repast except Jeff, who seemed to be 
conscious of the rage seething within Juan’s 
breast and finally excused himself from the table, 
inviting Juan to the library after the meal was 
over. No one suspected that a raging devil 
was within both men, stirring them to the ex¬ 
tremity of desperation. When he entered the 
library Juan was not surprised to see that 
Jeff had belted on his guns, but he felt ready 
for him. In fact, he had expected to meet him 
in open combat for years but some fortunate 
circumstance had always averted trouble. Walk¬ 
ing to the opposite side of the table he stood 
quietly waiting for his antagonist to speak or 
make a move, every muscle of his body ready 
to spring into instant action. His very coolness 
made Jeff furious. Finally with a strong effort 
at self control, he spoke, “What in hell did you 
mean by glowering at me as you did at the table 
and on the porch?” 

“I was only thinking, Jeff. You must have 
fancied I was thinking of you,” Juan coolly 
replied. 

“Thinking? You’re a liar, you dirty greaser.” 

Juan winced at this insult but controlled his 
temper while Jeff continued, pounding the table 
with his fist, “I am getting tired of you and 


THE REPRISAL 


127 


your gang. Any more incidents like those of 
today, and I’ll fire you and your whole greaser 
bunch.” 

Juan leaned over the table and thrust his face 
close to this man whom he despised. “You do 
not dare—you do not dare. And you know it.” 
These words cut Jeff to the bone. He did know 
it only too well, but had never suspected until 
now how well his accuser knew it. The men 
glowered at each other for a moment, then with 
a curt nod Juan leisurely walked the length of 
the room, opened the door and stepped into the 
hallway. It was an exhibition of supreme nerve 
that his antagonist could not fail to admire. 
Speechless with rage, he drew and replaced his 
gun three times before Juan closed the door be¬ 
hind him. Relieved of the awful tension, he 
grabbed his decanter and drank draught after 
draught until he felt a frightful presence which 
seemed to whisper from every nook and cranny 
of the room, “You killed me and now you would 
darken my daughter’s life.” Over and over the 
walls echoed and re-echoed it. He crouched in 
the big chair, a craven coward, afraid to open 
his eyes. As his courage returned, he stood up 
and tried to laugh his fears away but again he 
weakened, for there across the table, stood Hal, 
his eyes terrible to behold and his claw-like 
hands grasping at his very throat. With a 
shriek that curdled the blood of everyone in the 
house and brought men running from the stables 
and corrals, he threw his arms above his head 


128 


THE REPRISAL 


and pitched forward, face down on the table. 
Juan cleared the hall-way of curious men and 
women and entered the library, accompanied by 
Bert. They found the deluded man as he fell 
and carried him to the couch. When he opened 
his eyes, he grabbed Juan’s arm and fairly bel¬ 
lowed, “Keep him off. Keep him off. He tried 
to throttle me.” 

“There is no one here but Bert and me, Jeff,” 
Juan quitely assured him. 

“But he was here, I tell you,” insisted Jeff. 

“Who?” asked Bert but Juan shook his head 
in disapproval. 

“There is no one here now except Bert and 
me, I tell you,” reiterated Juan. 

By a powerful effort at self control, he sat up 
and passed his hand repeatedly across his fore¬ 
head. “It’s only my heart on the rampage. It 
acts up occasionally of late.” They were glad 
to see him brace up. 

“I’d cut out the booze, old man, if I were 
you,” Bert advised. 

“Pooh. It's nothing. I’m all right.” 

Satisfied that he was, they left him. 


XV 


Soon after the incident just related, Jeff left 
for Bergman, swearing he would never enter 
that haunted room again, as he always did 
after one of those encounters with “IT,” mean¬ 
ing the illusion. Not aware of his departure, 
Juan and Bert decided to take a ride to the 
valley. Here, in a secluded nook in the rocks, 
Juan gave vent to his pent up feelings, pacing 
back and forth like a caged beast and bitterly 
cursing Jeff. Finally he calmed himself and sat 
on a rock beside his comrade. 

“It must seem strange to you that I should so 
hate and curse my son-in-law, but no man knows 
him as I do. I feel I can trust you and some 
day will tell you all. Jeff Melton is a black¬ 
hearted criminal, a cursed soul from the pits of 
hell, spreading ruin and crime wherever he goes 
and hiding his baseness under a cloak of joviality 
and good fellowship. He is a murderer, a high¬ 
way robber, a cattle rustler and a debaucher. 
There is no sin or crime under the sun that he 
will not commit to further his own ends.” 

“Juan, Juan, calm yourself. You surely do 
not mean all you say,” broke in Bert. 

“Oh, yes, I do, and more; some day the truth 
will become known. It has eased my heart to 
unburden my feelings to you, my friend. Let 
129 


130 


THE REPRISAL 


us go.” They rode back to the house leisurely, 
each busy with his own thoughts. 

Rosa and the girls had come out on the porch 
after the men started for their ride and when 
Jimmy saw them there he remembered Mercedes’ 
laughing request to bring “the queen” a drink of 
water. He filled a pitcher from the bubbling 
spring and approached her presence with slow, 
stately tread and dignified mien. He always 
entered whole-heartedly into all his tasks and his 
whole duty now was to serve this gracious queen. 
Carefully placing his burden on the lower step, 
he made a low bow to Madge, and dropping to 
one knee delivered the following speech, “Your 
Gracious Majesty, you see before you a loyal 
knight who longs to swear fealty to you and 
your friends, if it please your Royal Highness 
to accept it.” 

Patiently he waited for an answer from the 
queen. Rosa was smiling, Mercedes could 
scarcely restrain her mirth, and Madge was be¬ 
wildered. She was at a loss to know what to 
say, but decided to enter into the spirit of the 
game and humor the old man, and replied, “Sir 
Knight, it pleases us to accept you as our sworn 
subject. You may arise.” 

Slowly rising to his feet, he addressed her 
further, “Your Majesty, I have brought you a 
draught of the nectar of the gods, brewed in the 
garden of Olympus, and may it please you to 
accept it from your faithful servitor.” 

“I thank you kindly for your forethought, Sir 


THE REPRISAL 


131 


Knight, and am pleased to accept of the 
draught.” 

Solemnly, Sir Knight Jimmy poured out a 
glass of the clear water and presented it to her 
on bended knee. She graciously accepted it and 
drank heartily. “It is indeed the nectar of the 
gods and I thank you.” 

With a low bow he drew an imaginary sword, 
straightened himself to his full height, threw 
back his head, waved his arm on high, and 
cried, “For God and the Queen,” then glided 
gracefully from her royal presence. 

After he had disappeared around the corner 
of the house, Mercedes laughed until the tears 
came, while Madge exclaimed, “Why, I never 
was so astonished in all my life as I was when 
he stood erect. He is a regular giant in stature.” 

“Yes,” said Rosa, “and a giant in strength. 
He overcame the most powerful buck among the 
Hualapai with apparent ease, and I have heard 
Jeff tell of a sound thrashing he gave him for 

calling him a fool. It takes a strong man to 

do that.” 

“What makes him stoop over so like a little, 
old man?” asked Madge. 

“We do not know. Nothing is known of 

him except the fact that he was rescued from 

the desert, a lost identity,” Rosa explained. 

Jimmy strutted about the rest of the day with 
his head in the clouds and all the joshing from 
the ranch hands only brought looks of disdain. 

Directly after the men returned from their 


132 


THE REPRISAL 


jaunt, Madge and Bert made their way home¬ 
ward. At the top of the ridge they reined in 
their horses for a final look at the grand and 
sublime panorama spread out before them where 
they had spent such an eventful day. Leaning 
close to each other and looking deeply into each 
other’s eyes, their lips met in their first lover’s 
kiss. It is not surprising that they lingered in 
this enchanted place until the glorious sunset 
disappeared and the bright, silvery moon cast 
long shadows before them. 

Aunt Nell became very anxious because of 
Madge’s prolonged absence, but Gwen knew she 
was capable of taking care of herself and yet 
felt relieved when the truants arrived. Bert 
received a hearty welcome and when they retired 
to the parlor he eagerly told of his deep love 
for the girl who had recently come into his 
life. Aunt Nell declared she had known all the 
time and taunted Madge with “Ain’t he just 
grand?” much to that young lady’s discomfiture. 
Then the lovers narrated the events of this most 
unusual day—Mercedes’ plot and its failure, her 
narrow escape and rescue, Madge’s forgiveness, 
and their reconciliation, the recital of which 
caused both Gwen and Aunt Nell to shudder and 
turn pale. 

Finally came the rehearsal of Jimmy’s bur¬ 
lesque on royalty. “And, Mama,” Madge said 
excitedly, “he has the most glorious eyes. They 
are so big and blue they are nearly purple. And 
when he stood erect he was a giant in stature 


THE REPRISAL 


133 


with the most noble head I ever saw.” During 
this recital Gwen and Aunt Nell exchanged 
knowing looks. The same thought entered their 
minds, “Where did Jeff Melton get this mys¬ 
terious Jimmy, so little and bent over, yet so 
mighty in stature and noble of mien?” 

“Bert,” asked Gwen, “what do you know of 
this Jimmy?” 

“Very little,” he replied. “I have often won¬ 
dered about him. Once or twice I have seen 
him, as Madge did today, standing erect, and 
he is one of the most superb looking men I ever 
saw, well over six feet in height with a pair of 
broad shoulders and a deep chest. The story is 
told that he was rescued from death on the 
desert by the Indians after he was severely 
wounded, and by them nursed back to health, 
but his memory has remained clouded. Through 
a whim of Jeff Melton’s he was brought to the 
ranch years ago and has acted as cook for one 
of his outfits ever since. His hands are as soft 
and delicately formed as a woman’s and every 
word he utters betokens a man of broad intellect. 
No word of his past has come from himself or 
the outer world and nothing more is known of 
him.” 

His listeners hung on every word. 

“How long has Jeff had him?” Gwen asked. 

“Eighteen or twenty years, I have been told.” 

Much speculation was indulged in regarding 
his possible identity and sympathy expressed 
over his plight. 


134 


THE REPRISAL 


“You say he stared at you inquiringly and ran 
his hands over his head as though trying to re¬ 
call the past?” Gwen asked Madge. 

“Yes,” she answered. “You don’t mean, 
Mama, that—?” she left the question unfinished. 

“I don’t know, darling. It may be.” 

That night when the rest of the world was in 
the land of happy dreams, Gwen and Aunt Nell 
were awake until the small hours of morning, 
wondering and discussing the probability of this 
strange man being Hal. 

“It is my honest opinion that Madge saw her 
father today and Jeff knows his identity,” stated 
Aunt Nell most positively. 

“I pray to God that you are right as to his 
identity, but I don’t agree as to Jeff’s knowing 
him, for if he had known or even been suspicious 
he would have killed him long ago.” 

They decided to air their opinions to Bert, for 
was he not one of the family now? Next morn¬ 
ing, at a family conference, Gwen related the 
story of Hal’s trip with Jeff from their home 
town, his disappearance and supposed murder 
and all. Bert felt satisfied that Jimmy was none 
other than Hal Duncan and undertook to ferret 
out the mystery. He knew he must use the 
utmost caution in his investigation and not 
arouse Jeff’s suspicions, for he had men who 
would carry out his instructions, even to mur¬ 
der. He advised the ladies not to worry about 
his periods of absence, no matter how long he 
was gone. His investigations might take him to 


THE REPRISAL 


135 


unfamiliar places, and on the other hand he 
might be able to dig up something close at home. 


XVI 


Henry Dayley was sitting at a little table in 
Dick’s dance hall in company with Queenie May, 
an habitue of the place who was bleeding him for 
every dollar he had. She showed a trace of for¬ 
mer beauty and was still a good-looking woman, 
with rich brown hair, deep blue eyes, and a 
sweet expression which completely belied the life 
she was living. Jeff sauntered to their table and 
they asked him to be seated. 

“Feel like talking a little business, Henry?” 
he asked. 

“If it’s about selling out my herd and ranch, 
no. 

“Well, it’s on that subject. You are foolish to 
try to hang on, Henry. You know you are slip¬ 
ping and there is no getting around the fact.” 

Dayley’s face clouded for he heartily disliked 
Jeff and mistrusted him. Queenie broke in on 
the conversation. “Do you mean to say that 
Henry cannot re-establish his good name and 
credit by dealing uprightly?” 

“No, I do not say that, but if he is not broke, 
he is badly bent. Lost credit and confidence are 
hard to coax back. It will require infinite time 
and patience.” 

“Well, Jeff, you can take it from me,” spoke 
up Dayley, “I will not sell, at least not to you. 

136 


THE REPRISAL 


137 


I mean to live a straight, upright life and re¬ 
establish my credit. I have over a thousand 
head of white-faced Herefords. Though I am 
stripped of ready cash, I am not mortgaged.” 

“Very well,” said Jeff good-naturedly, “you 
know your own business best. I would have 
given you a generous price,” and with that re¬ 
mark he arose and joined the crowd at the bar. 

When he had left, Queenie turned to Henry 
and said, “Never mind the money, Henry boy, 
you will get on your feet. I have saved every 
dollar you have so freely given me to combat 
just such a time as this. It is for the mutual 
use of the new firm of Henry & Queenie May.” 

He sat looking at her very dubiously. “Do 
you mean it, Queenie May?” 

“Every word of it.” 

“Gee, you are some woman. Come with me.” 

He led her out into the night and the saloons 
and dance halls knew them no more, for out of 
that life they had gone forever. When the little 
town saw them again they were stepping off the 
train from Prescott, man and wife. Many a tongue 
wagged when the news of their marriage became 
known and the saloon loafers looked in vain for 
the drinks, supposedly due because of the happy 
event. They disappointed the scandal mongers 
by treading the straight and narrow road, happy 
and contented. Many such cases have been 
known on the desert where debased, pleasure- 
loving men and women have been raised from 
disgraceful depths to the heights of bliss and 


138 


THE REPRISAL 


honor. In this dear old West these men and 
women were accepted at face value and taken 
into the ranks of the respectable community to 
whom they showed a desire to live honorably. 
How much more tolerant and Christ-like than the 
present-day proceedure of permanent condemna¬ 
tion and ostracism. 

To return to Jeff: after he had had a couple of 
drinks at the bar he nodded to Dick and together 
they retired to the back room. 

“Who is upsetting you, Dayley?” asked Dick. 

“Yes, damn him. I offered him his price for 
his outfit and he refused it. He and Queenie 
have some highfalutin’ idea that he is going to 
straighten up and get on his feet. We might as 
well have that white-faced herd before someone 
else gets it. You get Big Mike, Shorty Allen, 
Slim Dodds, Devil Craig and Andy Mullen in 
here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Shorty 
and Slim were Dayley’s men, Andy Mullen was 
a deputy sheriff, and the others were Jeff’s men. 

When Dick left to perform the duty assigned 
to him, Jeff slipped out of the back! door, un¬ 
seen, and made his way to Wilson’s dive. Stand¬ 
ing in the shadow of the buildings and looking 
in through the open door he spied the man he 
was in search of—Diehl, Dayley’s foreman. He 
stepped into the doorway and nodded to him, and 
together they went to Jeff’s room, where his 
worthy friends had gathered to await his orders. 
After the invariable round of drinks and good- 
natured banter, he got down to business. 


THE REPRISAL 


139 


“Diehl, this time the lightning is going to strike 
your white-faced herd.” All eyes were turned 
his way and he winced as though struck. 
“Haven’t you any stomach for the job?” Jeff 
went on in a hard voice. “You know traitors do 
not live long on this range. There is one master 
mind and that’s me,” and he struck his chest 
with his open hand. “Me, without question; do 
you understand?” 

“What the devil do you think I am?” Diehl 
flared up. “I ain’t crawfishin’, am I?” 

“See that you don’t,” answered Jeff dryly, and 
continued, “I offered Dayley his own price for 
his whole outfit, not only tonight but many 
times before, and he saw fit to refuse. Now we 
will relieve him of his herd for the benefit of the 
assembled company before he has a chance to 
hand it over the bar or card table.” 

A grunt of approval greeted this speech, and he 
went on. “A month from today, Diehl, you and 
your men turn that herd over to Devil Craig in 
Little Chino Valley. See them well on the way to 
Big Basin with it, then you beat it back to town 
and make yourself conspicuous around the stores 
and saloons. Shorty, you and Slim play the 
outraged puncher game and come tearing into 
town about 9 P. M. to give the alarm. The rest 
is easy.” 

As soon as he was sure that everyone under¬ 
stood his particular duty, he dismissed them with 
the admonition not to forget the date, and 
joined the crowd at the bar, apparently waiting 


140 


THE REPRISAL 


for someone to show up. Lafe Stewart and Andy 
Wight drifted in and soon the three were on their 
way to the south through East Valley. About 
midnight they reached the East Station ranch 
house, where they spent the night. In the morn¬ 
ing they continued to the south toward the great 
Judith Range, arriving at its foothills late in the 
afternoon. For a mile they rode through a big 
wash that extended along the base of the hills 
in an east and westerly direction, then turned into 
a smaller wash that looked like dozens of others 
they had passed, which caused the men to won¬ 
der how Jeff knew which one to take. This wash 
they followed for two or three miles of winding 
and twisting between the hills, ever rising higher 
and higher toward the foot of the great range, 
until they finally reached what appeared to be 
a gate set in the solid rock, and so it proved to 
be. Three heavy oak bars, set into the rock on 
each side, made an effective gateway. Riding in¬ 
side and replacing the bars, they found themselves 
in a natural mountain meadow of about twenty 
acres, filled with rich, wild grass. It was enclosed 
on three sides by the wall of rock and steep foot¬ 
hills and on the other by the sheer walls of the 
big range. A large spring of sparkling water 
burst out of the rock at the foot of the mountain, 
flowed across the meadow, and disappeared under 
the rocky wall opposite. At this inviting place 
they made preparations to camp for the night. 

A blazing campfire was built and a generous 
meal prepared for three very hungry men who 


THE REPRISAL 


141 


caused every morsel to vanish. Then, stretching 
themselves beside the fire with their pipes in 
full blast, Jeff regaled them with wonderful 
stories of his travels and experiences in far coun¬ 
tries, tales of' bold men and deeds in this big 
desert country, and many a jolly anecdote. After 
they finally rolled up in their blankets to sleep, 
they voted him a most jolly companion. Bright 
and early the next morning, he roused them, 
much to their disgust, and led them to the far 
end of the field, where he disappeared behind a 
huge rock, the men close at his heels. They 
followed a narrow, rocky, waterworn path that 
led up the mountainside in a steep, tortuous 
way, now between high walls, now beside small 
canyons, sometimes across gentle, cactus-covered 
slopes, but ever higher and higher. Lafe and 
Andy began to puff and blow because of their 
unwonted exertions, and felt dizzy as they looked 
out over the surrounding territory from the great 
height they had attained. But their leader led 
on tirelessly, onward and upward. Suddenly the 
path turned and followed alongside of a canyon, 
thousands of feet deep, at the base of a rock 
wall that reared its mighty bulk high above 
them. The trail was no more than two feet wide 
along this wall for a distance of three hundred 
feet and inclined somewhat toward the chasm 
at their feet. Lafe followed timidly, thoroughly 
frightened, but Andy set up a howl that was loud 
and of short duration, for Jeff turned as quick 
as lightning on the narrow ledge and covered 


142 


THE REPRISAL 


him with his six-shooter. ‘‘For God’s sake, Jeff, 
I can’t make it across there,” pleaded the terrified 
man. 

‘‘Very well,” said Jeff grimly, “I’ll leave you 
here for the coyote^ and buzzards to pick up. 
You have gone too far to turn back now,” and 
he raised his cocked gun a trifle. 

“Oh, God, go on, go on. I’ll follow.” 

A few hundred feet farther on they came out 
on a smooth wide ledge of rock that extended 
along the face of giant cliffs for a quarter of a 
mile, beneath which stretched a panorama of 
beauty defying description,—great valleys with 
silvery streams like bright ribbons winding their 
way across them; arid desert wastes; countless 
mountain ranges, some forest-covered, others 
rock-ribbed with sharp, jagged peaks, and still 
others covered with snow. The three men 
seemed to be affected alike by the grandeur and 
sublimity of the view before them and paused 
to drink in the wonder of it all. Then they pro¬ 
ceeded a short distance farther along the ledge, 
when Jeff turned abruptly into a tunnel in the 
face of the cliffs. This tunnel was an old water 
course many rods long and about ten feet in 
diameter. A tiny speck of daylight was discern¬ 
ible at the far opening, toward which they 
groped their way. As they stepped into the 
light, they found themselves high up on a heavily 
timbered mountainside. Giant pines, oaks, spruce, 
ash, hard maple and black walnut were there in 
profusion. Skirting the side of this mountain 


THE REPRISAL 


143 


for some distance, they arrived at the edge of a 
canyon about thirty feet across. On the opposite 
side, nestling under a high, arched wall of rock 
that towered hundreds of feet above it, on a wide 
ledge, stood a neat, little, four-room, log cabin. 
A mighty oak felled across the chasm made a 
most substantial bridge. 

Lafe and Andy stared in astonishment. 

“How in the world did that get here?” asked 
Lafe, nodding toward the cabin. 

“I built that several years ago, during a sum¬ 
mer when I was supposed to be traveling in 
Europe. I had a dickens of a time trying to de¬ 
scribe the sights of Paris and London when I 
got home,” and he laughed heartily at the recol¬ 
lection of the garbled tales he had told of his 
supposed travels. 

Crossing the bridge, they entered the cabin, 
which his love of beauty and comfort had led 
him to furnish tastily and lavishly. He had spent 
months of incredible toil and patience in smug¬ 
gling these furnishings and supplies for his re¬ 
treat, for everything had to be brought in piece¬ 
meal and some of the things patiently put to¬ 
gether again on arrival. He was highly pleased 
at the praise from his friends of this treasure of 
a place, hidden away so snugly in this wilderness 
as to almost defy discovery. But, notwithstand¬ 
ing Jeff's boasting that Lafe and Andy were the 
only two men besides himself to have ever en¬ 
tered or even suspected the existence of this 
place, there were two others who had spent 


144 


THE REPRISAL 


more than one night there and had eaten more 
than one meal from its well-stocked larder, un¬ 
beknown to each other. Bert had taken refuge 
there many times during his prospecting trips, 
while Juan had trailed Jeff here at the risk of 
his life and felt positive that he had built it as a 
secret refuge. It rested in the north and south 
range of mountains that pierced the Judith Range 
like a great sword at the extreme southern edge 
of Jeff’s estate. On the side of the range toward 
the west, lay the desolate, arid desert; on the 
opposite side green valleys, timber, and sparkling 
streams filled with luscious trout. You wonder 
if there are many such places in Arizona. Yes, 
there are several such, as the author can testify 
from personal observation. 

From a recess hidder in the wall, Jeff produced 
the inevitable bottle of booze and glasses, and 
after they had wet their whistles, he proudly 
showed his companions the four rooms of the 
cabin—a large living-room, two medium-sized 
bedrooms, and an ample kitchen and dining-room 
combined. All were very nicely furnished. Then 
they sat down and he informed the two men 
that they were to bring Madge here on the same 
night that he had planned the raid on Dayley’s 
herd, and in the meantime they were to learn this 
trail so they could make it blindfolded, if neces¬ 
sary. He cautioned them again that he would 
murder* them both if they harmed her in any 
way or offered a single insult by look or word. 


THE REPRISAL 


145 


The next morning they started on the return 
journey until they reached the mountain meadow, 
where they had left their horses to graze. Here 
they rested and then rode to the big wash, skirt¬ 
ing the foothills, when Jeff stopped suddenly, 
turned about and told his companions to find 
their way back to the little wash they had left. 
They tried hard enough but turned into two 
wrong ones and passed the right one. Then Jeff 
instructed them by pointing out a mesquite bush 
growing close to the entrance, a large flat rock 
under its branches on the right, and near by a 
big barrel cactus. He explained that they might 
find any one of the three along the washes, but 
hardly a combination of all three at one wash 
except this. With these instructions, he left 
them at the canyon trail on their way home. It 
was understood that they were to spend several 
hours each day between East Station and the 
canyon so that they would be able to perform 
their assigned duty without blundering in any 
way. 


XVII 


Bert’s first thought in his quest for Hal and 
Jimmy’s lost identity was of Juan. Accordingly, 
he rode to the ranch and when opportunity of¬ 
fered, encountered him. “Now, Juan, if you ever 
in your life showed gratitude, you will show it at 
this time by helping to restore Madge’s 1 father 
to her,” he began rather abruptly. 

“Madge’s father? How can I do that?” 

“We think Jimmy is he, Hal Duncan, the bril¬ 
liant young lawyer, who came west with Jeff 
years ago and disappeared near this territory or 
in it at the time with fifty thousand dollars on 
his person, which disappeared with him. Soon 
after Jeff purchased this big ranch, and he could 
not have bought it with the little amount he had 
when he left home. Mrs. Duncan is the wife and 
Madge the daughter of Hal Duncan.” 

Juan looked at Bert, groaning in anguish and 
pacing back and forth, his soul in torment. The 
time had come, and he knew it, when he must 
give the husband of his beloved Rosa over to the 
law and ruin the future of his darling Mercedes. 
Perhaps there was some solution. He would stall 
it off as long as possible by directing Bert in 
such way that he would not have to betray 
his son-in-law. Personally he loathed him, but 
he wanted to shield his wife and daughter to the 
146 


THE REPRISAL 


147 


last. Regarding Jimmy’s identity, there was no 
doubt in his mind. 

Bert waited patiently for him to reply. He 
could almost read Juan’s thoughts and realized 
fully his position if their surmise were true. 

“Bert, my friend, we will restore the husband 
and father to these dear women if possible,” he 
finally said. “Go to old Captain John, Chief of 
the Hualapai, for your starting point. I am 
pretty sure you will find material evidence there. 
Be wise and cautious and follow the trail 
wherever it may lead. When the time comes 
I will do my part, I assure you, bitter as it 
may be.” 

“Gladly will I follow your advice, Juan,” re¬ 
turned Bert. “I know the task will bring grief 
and heartaches as well as joy and happiness, 
but justice should be done regardless of cost in 
whatever form.” 

“Yes, justice so long deferred must triumph, 
and I will help you to right this great wrong / 5 
replied Juan sadly. 

Shaking his hand warmly, Bert started on his 
journey to Old John’s camp, some forty miles 
to the east, arriving there early the following 
forenoon. He was a prime favorite among the 
Indians, and particularly of the wrinkled, old 
chief. For the past three winters he had sup¬ 
plied food and clothing to this fast disappearing 
tribe of Hualapai and they were grateful. They 
trusted him to the extent that he had been made 
the arbiter and judge in many a dispute among 


148 


THE REPRISAL 


them, always accepting his decisions without 
question on these occasions. 

On his arrival, he was greeted with many a 
broad grin and hearty “How” from the bucks, 
and shy smiles and glances from the squaws. 
An Indian is seldom forward or bold in his de¬ 
meanor, but his likes and dislikes are real, and he 
never fails to show them in an expression of 
genuine pleasure or cold contempt. Old John 
was sitting outside his hogan as Bert dismounted 
and greeted him with a friendly grunt and tooth¬ 
less smile, motioning him to a seat beside him 
on a large pile of blankets. Bert took a well- 
filled tobacco pounch from his pocket, filled his 
pipe, and passed the pouch to the old Chief, 
whose eyes sparkled at sight of it. It was only 
on rare occasions that he got tobacco like this. 
They smoked in silence and supreme enjoyment 
for some time, uttering never a word. The sky 
clouded over. A drop of rain fell, then another 
and another, and finally a steady downpour. 

They went inside, the first time Bert had ever 
been in a hogan. What he saw was a room about 
twenty feet square, built of stout saplings and 
covered with deerskins, drawn tightly over the 
outside of the framework. The roof was slightly 
sloped with a hole in the center for the smoke 
to escape. There were no windows and a deer¬ 
skin hung over the entrance. With the excep¬ 
tion of the hole in the roof, there was no place 
for light to enter and it was almost pitch dark 
when first entering. As soon as he was some- 


THE REPRISAL 


149 


what accustomed to the semi-darkness, he seated 
himself on a pile of blanket-covered pine boughs 
and looked about rather curiously. In the center 
of the room was a smouldering fire built on the 
dirt floor and the accompanying smoke was 
stifling at first. About the fire were scattered a 
few sooty pots and pans, while bows and arrows, 
a rifle, strings of corn dried on the cob and strung 
together, a cartridge belt and holsters with two 
old-fashioned Colt’s pistols, and an old silver 
watch suspended by its chain, hung from the 
framework of the room, which barely cleared his 
head as he entered. One corner of the room was 
occupied with a couple of pallets of pine boughs 
and blankets. In another corner were two or 
three crude shelves loaded with a nondescript 
assortment of groceries, old tins, dirty rags and 
Indian vessels of pottery. At one side hung an 
“olla” or water jar, suspended from a rafter. As 
he gradually became used to the dim light, Bert 
made these observations and both smoked with¬ 
out comment. Finally he rose and took down 
John’s rifle, examining it carefully, “That’s some 
gun, John,” he said. 

“Yeah. Heap good. Ketchum deer.” 

“Yes?” 

“Yeah. Ketchum lion.” 

“Is that so?” ejaculated Bert in pretended 
admiration. 

“Yeah. Ketchum bear. Ketchum ev’rything.” 

“That’s fine.” 

“Yeah. Heap gun.” John’s gun was some- 


150 


THE REPRISAL 


thing he could always enthuse over, as it seemed 
to lie nearest to his heart. 

Bert replaced the gun and began to examine 
the belt and pistols. Old John scowled but smoked 
on in silence. 

“Want to sell these, John?” asked Bert. 

“No. Me no sellum.” 

As he was handling them he was startled at 
sight of the initials “H. D.” neatly printed, but 
dimly discernible on the inside of the belt. Step¬ 
ping to the door to get a better light, he dis¬ 
covered the same initials carved on the pistol 
grips. Now he felt sure he was on the right trail 
and made up his mind to get those guns if he 
had to steal them; however, it was necessary to 
have John’s story or the guns would be of little 
benefit. Old John watched him stoically as he 
held them in his hands, apparently in deep 
thought. 

“I’ll give you ten dollars for them, John.” 

“Nope. Me no sellum.” 

Taking a twenty-dollar goldpiece from his 
pocket, which Old John eyed greedily, he said, 
“I’ll give you twenty dollars.” 

“Nope,” said John, but not so firmly as before. 

“All right,” said Bert. He put the coin back 
in his pocket and started to replace the belt. 

“What for you want um?” asked John. 

“Oh, I need a new belt and I like old guns 
like these. I’ll hang them up in my shack.” 

“You no give more?” 

“No.” 


THE REPRISAL 


151 


"All right, you ketchum.” 

Bert hastily handed him the goldpiece and then 
took down the watch and chain. He noted the 
embedded bullet and the same initials engraved 
on the reverse side. 

"You throw this in, too?" he asked carelessly. 

"No. You give me five dollars." 

"Why, it’s no good. IT1 give you one dollar.” 

"Why you want um then?" 

"Well, it’s old. Made a long time ago.” 

"Yes," replied John, "many moons.” 

"Take the dollar?" 

"You no give more?" 

"No." 

"All right. You take um." 

Bert could scarcely restrain his elation at secur¬ 
ing these articles and paid over the other dollar. 
Then sitting beside John they smoked silently 
for some time. As he idly fingered the articles 
he had purchased he wondered if John would 
tell him how he came into possession of them. 

"Where you ketchum, John?" he asked ab¬ 
sently. 

The old Indian looked at him squarely, then 
turned away and smoked in silence. His ques¬ 
tioner wanted to wring his neck and became so 
uneasy he was afraid the foxy, old chief would 
notice it. Finally, while he was wondering how 
he could approach him next, John spoke, "Me 
find um dead man. Bring um camp. Make um 
well." He puffed at his pipe, then added, "Him 


152 


THE REPRISAL 


loco here,” pointing to his own head. “Shoot 
um in head.” 

“Yes? And you got his watch and guns?” 

“Yeah. Him loco. No want um.” 

“Did he go away?” 

“No.” 

“He didn’t? Then where is he? Did he die?” 
It was like pulling eye teeth to get any informa¬ 
tion out of John, but he was resolved to be 
patient. 

“No. Him no die. Big Jeff ketchum.” 

“Who?” Bert exploded. 

“Big Jeff.” 

“Did Big Jeff know him?” 

“No. He no know um.” 

“What became of him then?” 

“Huh?” 

“What became of him after Jeff got him?” 
Bert was trembling like a leaf. 

“You no savvy?” John asked in surprise. 

“No.” 

“Huh,” John wondered at Bert’s lack of com¬ 
prehension, then added, “Um Jimmy Clothes.” 

It was difficult for Bert to suppress his excite¬ 
ment any longer. “Now,” he thought, “Juan 
will have to supply the missing links of the 
story.” He tarried a little longer, then gave 
the old chief a generous supply of tobacco and 
started on his return journey to Anvil Rock 
with the precious articles in his saddle bags. 
When he reached the ranch the next forenoon, 


THE REPRISAL 


153 


he found Juan ready to leave for Bergman, and 
he asked him to accompany him. 

“You made a quick trip, Bert. Any luck?” 
smiled Juan, when they were on their way. 

“Yes. Far more than I expected. I’ll show 
you later.” 

Juan knew that his friend had secured Hal’s 
watch and guns just as positively as if he had 
seen the transaction, and he was sad at heart, for 
he could no longer stave off the narration of past 
events within his knowledge. Beyond the can¬ 
yon Bert showed him the relics, which he exam¬ 
ined curiously. “I knew you had them,” he 
said dryly. 

“You did?” asked Bert vehemently and very 
much surprised. 

“Yes, I saw from a distance Old John take 
them from Jimmy’s body. I might as well tell 
you the whole story now as we ride along.” He 
was silent for some time, recalling vividly the 
whole ghastly scene. 

“I was on my way to the east ranch house one 
afternoon in the year 185—, to spend the night 
there with my men. As I approached the west 
side of the canyon I heard men talking and 
horses’ feet striking the gravel on the canyon 
trail. We were taking no chances in those days 
with encountering bands of roving renegades 
who would rob and kill for the seeming pleasure 
of it, so I hid my horse in the heavy brush beside 
the trail and crawled on my hands and knees to a 
crevice in the rimrock. Lying flat on my belly, 


154 


THE REPRISAL 


I had a full view of the canyon and the trail 
leading down into it from the opposite side. Two 
men were riding down this trail; the one in 
front was the man I have come to know as 
Jimmy, the other was Jeff Melton. Half way to 
the floor of the canyon Jeff raised himself in his 
stirrups, drew his gun, and fired at the back of 
the man in front. I never saw such a fiendish 
look on the face of any human being as that on 
his face just before he fired. Jimmy, as I shall 
call him, plunged headlong from his rearing, 
frightened horse, rolling along almost beneath 
the horse’s feet, and finally hurtled to one side, 
where he lodged between the canyon wall and a 
detached slab of rock. For a moment, Jeff was 
apparently stunned by his criminal deed, then a 
fit of terror seemed to seize him and he rode like 
fury up out of the canyon. I saw him 
take a bottle from his pocket and drink from it, 
after which he seemed to possess more courage, 
for he rode back to where his victim’s body had 
lodged. In the meantime, Jimmy had turned 
over and was staring with wide-open eyes into 
Jeff’s face, which appeared to horrify him so that 
he uttered a most blood-curdling cry. Then he 
pulled his gun again and fired point blank at the 
heart of the helpless man, robbed his body, 
gloated over the money he found and threw his 
belt on the trail. I still have it and will give 
it to you. He tried to cover the body with brush, 
then, catching Jimmy’s horse, he rode out in the 
direction from which he had come. 


THE REPRISAL 


155 


“I slipped down to get the discarded belt and 
was mounting my horse when I heard horses in 
the canyon again. I crawled to my hiding place 
a second time and saw old John and One-eyed 
Riley stop by the body and then carry it to the 
bottom of the canyon. Here he took the things 
you have regained possession of, besides a pocket- 
book and a few trinkets. Discovering that he 
was still alive, he carried him to his camp, where 
I saw him many times during the next few 
months. And that is where Jeff found him. He 
was so changed in appearance by that time, how¬ 
ever, that Jeff could never be sure he was his 
erstwhile friend. But in order to watch him more 
closely he persuaded Jimmy to accompany him 
home. I have seen him watch this man by the 
hour as if trying to decide whether he was his 
former companion or not. If he had ever been 
reasonably sure that such was the case Jimmy 
would have been disposed of long ago. I am sure 
it was the illusion of his former friend that put 
him in the state we found him in the other day 
in the library. I have found him in just such 
a terrified condition many times. Jimmy is un¬ 
doubtedly Mrs. Duncan’s husband.” 

Bert shuddered at the cold-blooded crime re¬ 
lated by Juan and they rode on in silence, each 
busy with his own thoughts. At length, the 
young man expressed the thought foremost in 
his mind, “But, Juan, why didn’t you denounce 
Jeff at the time?” 

“My boy, in those days every man tended 


156 


THE REPRISAL 


strictly to his own business. It was not con¬ 
sidered healthy to meddle with affairs that did 
not concern you personally. And when I met 
Jeff at the ranch house that night I was not 
positive that he was the same man. However, 
circumstances soon after proved to me absolutely 
that he was. I have never told a soul, but will 
disclose my secret to you so you will understand 
why I have kept silent during all these years. 
Through a compromised marriage to my mother¬ 
less daughter, Rosa, he became the father of 
my beloved Mercedes, so I kept my tongue 
bridled as the years slipped by for the sake of 
my daughter and granddaughter. No inquiry 
was made regarding Jimmy and I just blinded 
myself to the wickedness of my son-in-law.” 

“Then Jeff is not aware that Jimmy is Hal 
Duncan?” 

“No. At first I think he suspected he was, 
but in recent years he has paid little attention 
to him.” 

Placing his hand on his friend’s arm, Bert said 
in a consoling tone, “I am glad you have confided 
in me, Juan, but my heart aches for you and 
your loved ones. I wish we could spare them.” 

“That cannot be, Bert, if justice is to prevail. 
What immediate action are you planning to 
take?” 

“I don’t know until I interview Mrs. Duncan. 
You say he was shot in the head?” 

“Yes.” 

“Perhaps an operation would restore him,” 


THE REPRISAL 


157 


mused Bert, more to himself than to his friend. 

“Possibly it might. I should think it quite 
likely,” replied Juan. 

Presently, after a prolonged silence, Bert re¬ 
marked, “Well, according to that, this great ranch 
and fortune belong to Hal Duncan.” 

“Most assuredly.” 

At this juncture the friends found it necessary 
to bid each other adieu, Juan to attend to affairs 
in Bergman and Bert to confer with Gwen. 


XVIII 


On his arrival at Gwen’s, Bert was most cor¬ 
dially welcomed, you may be sure. “But dear 
you have been gone such a long time,” pouted 
Madge. 

“Yes, three days does seem a long time, sweet¬ 
heart. But I have accomplished wonders,” and 
he held her close. 

“You have? Oh, have you found him?” cried 
Gwen. 

“Yes, mother mine, and got the whole story 
and evidence.” 

“Oh, God; oh, God; I thank you. At last— 
at last,” and she dropped to her knees in front 
of Aunt Nell and sobbed out her years of pent-up 
grief, sorrow, and loneliness, while both Aunt 
Nell and Madge quietly wept in sympathy. When 
all became calm, Bert rehearsed the whole story 
from beginning to end and laid Hal’s recovered 
possessions before them, which brought forth 
another flood of tears as his beloved wife handled 
them tenderly. 

Hardly was the narrative finished when Aunt 
Nell burst out in a speech of violent vituperation. 
“If punishment is not meted out to that blood¬ 
thirsty, treacherous brute, I’ll see to it myself 
that he gets his just deserts,” and she paced 
the floor excitedly. 


158 


THE REPRISAL 


159 


“Yes, dear, but we want to proceed cautiously 
and punish him in a way that deserving retribu¬ 
tion will be imposed upon him,” replied Gwen. 

“Oh, he’ll pay the penalty all right,” assured 
the young man. 

That very evening Gwen left for Phoenix to 
consult the surgeons at the hospital there as to 
the advisability of an operation to restore Hal’s 
lost memory. They had all, including Bert, 
jumped at the conclusion that brain pressure 
caused by the bullet lodged there was the cause 
of his inability to recall the past, and decided to 
take no drastic steps until Gwen’s return. The 
surgeons were noncommittal, telling her to bring 
him there for a thorough examination, when they 
would be able to inform her whether or not an 
operation would be successful. 

She returned full of hope for her loved one’s 
ultimate recovery and restoration to his family 
and fortune. Together they carefully formulated 
their plans. Gwen was to go to Phoenix to 
make the hospital arrangements and wait until 
Bert arrived with her husband. They planned to 
have Aunt Nell and Madge remain in Bergman, 
but right here Aunt Nell bucked. She was going 
to Phoenix regardless of former plans. Madge 
could stay and keep house by herself. If she 
couldn’t, it was about time she was learning how. 
So she had her way and Madge was to remain 
at home, exacting a promise from her that she 
would not leave the confines of the town nor be 
out after dark. 


160 


THE REPRISAL 


Bert had a scheme to get Hal to Phoenix with¬ 
out resistance. Accordingly he rode to Anvil 
Rock and presented his plan to Juan, who assured 
him it was feasible and promised his hearty 
co-operation. 

Jimmy had finished his after-dinner chores and 
was sitting on a little bench beside the cook 
shack, smoking and dozing in the balmy air, 
when Bert sneaked to the corner of the shack 
where he could attract his attention and said, 
'‘Hist.” As he looked up Bert beckoned to him 
and cautioned silence. His face lighted up with 
anticipation while Bert led him by the hand to a 
big oak that stood near the corrals. It was a 
ludicrous sight to see them as they gingerly 
stepped along like two villains in a melodrama. 
Juan, who was watching them from the big barn, 
could not repress a broad grin. Stopping beside 
the oak, Bert peered about cautiously, Jimmy 
doing likewise, then whispered, “A message from 
the Queen.” Jimmy was all excitement at men¬ 
tion of the Queen and whispered in reply, “Ah, 
from the Queen? What is it?” 

“You and I and another trusted knight are 
chosen to go on a mission of great secrecy in 
behalf of the Queen. Be cautious and let no 
word escape your lips before the knaves you 
serve. This evening wrap yourself in your blan¬ 
ket and wait on the little bench beside your door 
until the full of the moon, when I will call for 
you and lead you to where our trusty steeds 
will be in waiting, in charge of Sir Knight Juan.” 


THE REPRISAL 


161 


‘‘Ah, Juan,” interrupted his eager listener. 

“Yes, Juan. We will mount and be away on 
our errand. Be careful and let your actions 
cause no suspicion.” 

When Jimmy returned to the shack, he caught 
himself tiptoeing around several times and tried 
his durndest to act natural. Twice when he 
met Juan he gave him a silly wink, which he 
acknowledged by a slight bow and his finger to 
his lips as a reminder. He was restless for the 
rest of the day and had supper prepared an hour 
ahead of the usual time, making innumerable 
trips to tjie door to see why the men were so slow 
in coming. During the meal the men joshed him 
unmercifully because of his important manner. 
Jose Sanchez, one of the punchers, insisted that 
he had a date with Susie, one of the big squaws 
who helped Rosa. He became highly indignant, 
and finally blurted out, “I go on the Queen's 
mission,” then clapped his hand over his mouth 
and looked about, almost terror-stricken. 

“Hear, hear—the Queen—the Queen,” roared 
the men, but try as they would they could get 
no further information out of him. His work 
done, he wrapped a gaudy Navajo blanket about 
himself and waited impatiently for the vel¬ 
vety blackness of the night to pass and the 
silvery moon to come forth. However, an end 
comes to all things and Jimmy felt relieved when 
a thin strip of light, blood-orange in color, peeped 
over the eastern mountain range and rapidly 
grew into a great orb of fire, paling as it rose 


162 


THE REPRISAL 


higher and higher in the great dome of the 
heavens until it hung, like a bright, silvery disc, 
high above the earth, flooding the desert with 
soft, mellow light. Millions of multi-colored stars 
appeared to accompany Luna on her night’s 
journey. 

His patience was well nigh exhausted when 
Bert finally peered around the corner. Together 
they hastened to the corrals, where Juan was 
waiting with the horses. They lost no time in 
getting started, Juan leading, Jimmy following, 
and Bert bringing up the rear. Much to Bert’s 
amusement, Jimmy turned and shook his fist at 
the big house on the hill. 

Throughout the glorious night they rode. 
Every rock and shrub stood out in bold relief in 
the bright moonlight. Larger objects were plain¬ 
ly visible a mile away. Occasionally a frightened 
jack-rabbit scurried across their path or a slink¬ 
ing coyote disappeared over the brow of a hill. 
There are no places anywhere in this fair land 
that can excel in brilliance an Arizona moonlight 
night. Just before the darkness that precedes 
dawn settled over the desert, Juan called a halt. 
A camp was made and, after a hearty breakfast, 
they lay down to sleep. There was little fear of 
discovery as they were well off the beaten trail. 
When they resumed their journey they cut across 
East Valley to the southeast, skirted the huge, 
conical mass of Mount Picacho with its age-old, 
picture writing covered base, and turned to the 
south until they crossed the Prescott Trail un- 


THE REPRISAL 


163 


seen and reached Phoenix on the afternoon of 
the third day. Juan immediately started on his 
return journey in order to arrive home as soon 
as possible and avert any suspicions regarding 
himself. 

What a hullabalu was raised at the ranch as 
soon as Jimmy was discovered missing. When 
Jeff returned, the second day after his disappear¬ 
ance, the men had scoured every foot of the 
desert for miles without finding any trace of him. 
They found the tracks of three horses, but Juan 
sometimes took a saddle and a pack horse and 
Bert probably accompanied him to Prescott. 

When Juan arrived he corroborated their sup¬ 
positions by informing them that he had been in 
Prescott. He appeared to be as much surprised 
and worried as anyone and joined untiringly in 
the search. Jeff arranged his men in small 
groups and started them out in different direc¬ 
tions, enjoining them emphatically to search until 
they found him, while he took to the trail him¬ 
self, riding for miles and miles to no avail. 
Jimmy’s disappearance worried him more than 
he liked to admit, for in some unforeseen man¬ 
ner it seemed to presage his doom. To give vent 
to his restless and disturbed state of mind, he 
drove his men, including Juan, unmercifully. 


XIX 


Occasionally it seems as though the devil ar¬ 
ranges affairs conveniently for his subjects. How¬ 
ever, there is a law of the universe that is infal¬ 
lible. To us mortals its process may seem slow, 
but it is surer than death. “As a man soweth, so 
shall he reap, full, heaped up and running over.” 
Call it what you may—Fate, Law, Reward, 
Retribution—it is inexorable. 

Everything seemed to be in Jeff’s favor when 
the day for despoiling Dayley arrived. The lat¬ 
ter and his wife were in Denver at the time, 
and Jeff’s accomplices, Shorty Allen and Slim 
Dobbs, performed their work well. On this par¬ 
ticular morning they had the white-faced herd 
rounded up in a little draw leading to Chino 
Valley, and now the two rascals were lying on a 
little knoll under a big juniper tree smoking the 
inevitable cigarettes while their horses nibbled 
the grass near by and the herd quietly browsed 
on the sunny hillsides. Diehl arrived, surly and 
morose, and made it plain that he lacked gusto 
for the work in hand. 

“What’s a eatin’ yuh, Jack?” Allen asked him. 

“Oh, nothing in particular. I’m not especially 
stuck on double-crossing Dayley. He’s been 
square with all of us and you know it. I for one 
don’t like it.” 


164 


THE REPRISAL 


165 


“Well, I’m not hankering to do Henry, either, 
but he will get rid of his herd, as Jeff says, 
and we might as well be in on the money,” 
spoke Slim. 

“It’s a dirty trick, all right,” said Shorty, “and 
if I could get out of it, I’d beat it right now.” 

“It’s too late now,” said Diehl. “Here comes 
Devil Craig and his bunch. They’d shoot us like 
a lot of coyotes.” 

The herd was soon moving in a northerly direc¬ 
tion through a rocky pass in the range, then west, 
skirting the northern end of Audley Valley, and 
finally to the south, following the great cliffs to 
the west of the valley, and sixty miles across the 
trackless Malapai beds to Big Basin, a beautiful 
valley lying between high mountain ranges on 
the east and west sides of it. To the north are 
the Malapai beds and to the south, the vast 
stretch of desert that reaches across the Mexican 
border. The rains fill the water holes on this 
arid stretch of territory and the water generally 
lasts through the various seasons. The rustlers 
and their Mexican cohorts are well aware of this 
fact although this expanse is known as a land 
of no water and shunned accordingly by most 
desert travelers. In Big Basin there are numer¬ 
ous springs and an abundance of luscious grass, 
and it was here that the rustlers brought their 
booty. 

Diehl turned back as soon as he saw the herd 
enter the pass, for he was sore at heart and felt 
more sordid than at any time he could remember. 


166 


THE REPRISAL 


He was not always so conscientious, but Dayley 
had been a friend as well as employer to him, 
and now that he knew that he was trying to 
make good, it disgusted him to be associated with 
this dastardly act. Several times he was desper¬ 
ately tempted to tip the whole affair off to Com¬ 
modore, the sheriff, but he was deathly afraid 
of Jeff and the punishment he knew would be 
meted out to him if he fell within his reach. He 
was well aware that Jeff’s word would have 
more weight than his unsupported statement and 
doubted if anyone would corroborate his story. 
So, like all men who are weak, he just drifted 
with the current. 

Shorty and Slim turned back at the far end 
of the pass and made their way to a little can¬ 
yon, scarcely a mile from town, where they spent 
the day playing “seven up” with an old greasy 
deck of cards, smoking cigarettes and swapping 
yarns. At the appointed time, they “hit ’er up” 
for town at breakneck speed. They arrived in 
front of Dick’s, slid their horses to the rack on 
their haunches to avoid a head-on collision with 
the building, and rushed wild-eyed and apparently 
out of breath into the saloon. Diehl and Dick 
were standing at the bar as they came in and 
exchanged knowing winks, which did not escape 
the sharp eyes of Commodore, who happened to 
be there also. Looking around with a scowl, 
Diehl asked, “What the devil is the matter with 
you two guys?” 


THE REPRISAL 


167 


Slim was the first to get his breath. “The 
white-faced herd has been run off,” he panted. 

“What?” yelled Diehl, and grabbed Slim by 
the arm. 

“Fact,” replied Slim, “there were eight of ’em, 
mostly Mexicans, as near as I could judge.” 

“There were nine,” interrupted Shorty. 

“All right, nine then; I only counted eight. 
They left a couple of men to hold up Shorty and 
me until after dark, then they beat it like a 
whirlwind and we did the same into town.” 

“Which way did they go?” asked Diehl. 

“Straight into Audley Valley,” lied Slim. The 
crowd had packed themselves around him as the 
spokesman and Shorty had been shoved back, 
apparently of little account. 

Now it happened that Commodore, just inside 
the entrance to the saloon, had seen the spec¬ 
tacular arrival of the two punchers and had 
immediately smelled a mouse. Dayley’s men 
almost invariably were seen at Wilson’s, Diehl 
always. Seeing him at Dick’s and his two men 
meeting him there, looked too much like con¬ 
certed action. He stepped out quietly and quickly 
examined their horses, running his hands between 
their legs, down their flanks, along their bellies, 
and under their saddles. Neither horse was 
sweating nor were they heaving or breathing 
heavily as they would have done after a long, fast 
run. He was inside in time to hear the major 
part of Slim’s tale and elbowed his way to where 
Diehl stood. “Where is Henry?” he asked. 


168 


THE REPRISAL 


“In Denver,” was the reply. 

“When will he be back?” 

“Tonight, I think.” 

“All right,” said Commodore, “Pll organize 
this posse and give Dayley a chance to get in on 
it if he gets home in time. It’s too dark to ac¬ 
complish much tonight except to get well organ¬ 
ized. Diehl, you and Slim meet me in the card 
room in an hour, while Shorty and I dig up my 
deputies. Together we’ll formulate a plan of 
action and start at daybreak.” 

Diehl and Dick exchanged a perceptible smile 
which was not lost on Commodore any more 
than their wink had been. “Dick’s in on it and 
most likely Jeff engineered the whole thing,” he 
was thinking as he and Shorty left. There were 
four men in his office when they arrived, two 
deputies and two friends, whom he promptly 
deputized. 

To the amazement of everyone present, and 
especially to Shorty, Commodore whirled on that 
little gentleman and swung a brawny fist flush 
to his jaw which sent him in a heap against the 
wall. Then he relieved him of his gun and cov¬ 
ered him with his own. “Out with your story,” 
he snarled. 

“It’s God’s truth, Commodore.” 

“What is? Out with it quick before I get 
rough with you.” His captive looked around 
appealingly, but found no sympathy and felt more 
helpless than ever. 

“Come on. Hurry up,” continued the sheriff, 


THE REPRISAL 


169 


“your horses hadn’t run a mile, say nothing of 
fourteen miles from Chino.” 

So Shorty squealed. It is only the master 
crooks who never do. He told it from beginning 
to end, fully and completely. 

“So Jeff planned the whole thing to the smallest 
detail, did he?” asked Commodore. 

“Yes. He’s the Big Boss,” answered Shorty. 

“Ah, I thought so. Very well. Now listen to 
me. Don’t try any tricks with me or I’ll make 
an end of you. Be straightforward and I’ll see 
what I can do for you when you give your evi¬ 
dence at the trial for the state. You are going 
back to Dick’s with me to get Diehl, Slim and 
Dick. Then I’ll have to lock you up.” 

Accompanied by the four deputies, they re¬ 
turned to the saloon, two of them, Commodore 
and Shorty, to the back room, while the others 
quietly took Dick into custody under the very 
noses of the unsuspecting crowd. When the 
sheriff and his party entered and closed the 
door of the card room, Diehl was standing by 
an open window, looking very much bored. Before 
he and Slim realized what had happened they 
were looking into the muzzles of a brace of six- 
shooters in the hands of Commodore, the dead¬ 
liest shot in Arizona. Both threw up their 
hands. 

“It’s all off. You fellows might as well come 
right along. Put the bracelets on them, Jerry.” 

Diehl cast a venomous look at Shorty that made 
that uncomfortable little fellow quail. “I’ll get 


170 


THE REPRISAL 


you for this, you dirty little snake,” he growled. 

As Jerry, the deputy, proceeded to put on the 
handcuffs, he inadvertently stepped in the direct 
line of fire between Commodore’s guns and 
Diehl. This was the one chance Diehl was look¬ 
ing for and he was out of the window like a flash, 
running for his horse. Followed by a hail of 
bullets from the officers’ guns, he made a com¬ 
plete get-away for the time being, and through 
the darkness circled the town and headed for 
Anvil Rock. 


XX 


While her mother and Aunt Nell were away 
Madge occupied her time visiting sick friends, 
calling on old ladies with whom she was a great 
favorite, tending fretful babies for tired mothers, 
and making herself useful in many humble homes. 
Then, too, she had congenial girl friends who 
spent more time with her than they did at home. 
She missed Bert so much, and for the first time 
in her life felt she knew how to sympathize 
with her mother. 

She kept her promise not to stray from the 
town limits, but she stretched the limits a little 
to enable her to visit her big rock and view the 
sunsets. Lafe and Andy were aware of this 
diversion of hers and one evening soon after she 
had taken her accustomed seat, she saw them 
riding toward her leading an extra horse, but 
paid no attention to them when they stopped 
near her, apparently to enjoy the glorious sight 
also. They seemed to be talking about it in 
low tones when suddenly something was thrown 
over her head and she was fighting furiously 
to free herself as the two men placed her in the 
saddle and strapped her on securely. With one 
of them on each side of her they rode into Audley 
Valley and arrived at the East Station ranch 
house about midnight, where they stopped for 
171 


172 


THE REPRISAL 


refreshment. The men enjoyed a hearty meal 
but could not induce her to eat more than a 
nibble or two. 

Upon her promise to go quietly with them, they 
agreed not to muffle her or strap her to the sad¬ 
dle. The only information she could secure from 
them was that it was the Big Boss’ orders. Re¬ 
suming their journey southward, they arrived 
in the mountain meadow shortly after daybreak. 
The men were rather drowsy from the liquor 
they had with their meal besides an occasional 
drink on the way and decided to rest here before 
ascending the steep trail leading to the cabin. 
Andy soon dozed and Lafe yelled at him, but in 
a few moments he, too, was nodding. Madge 
was as wide awake as a chipmunk and waited 
rather impatiently until both men finally stretched 
out, full length, sleeping like pigs and making 
almost as much noise. Then she quietly slipped 
out into the wash, afraid to take a horse or even 
a canteen of water for fear of waking them. 
She felt sure she knew the general direction 
from which they came and would take a chance 
on the water. “How lucky,” she thought, “that 
I have on my hiking boots.” Having reached 
the big wash, she was undecided at first which 
direction to take, and finally chose to go east 
instead of west, as she should have done. She 
trudged along two or three hours along the base 
of the foothills and was so tired and sleepy she 
felt as if it were impossible to go on. Then, too, 
she feared pursuit and decided to find a place 


THE REPRISAL 


173 


to rest. She turned into a little wash that led 
her to the mouth of a canyon in the big range, 
the floor of which was covered with piles of rock, 
gravel and shale. Climbing high among the rocks, 
she found a large, flat one, shaded by the shelter¬ 
ing branches of a big juniper tree; here she made 
herself comfortable and slept for many hours. 
A little ground squirrel peered at her from a 
neighboring rock and little swifts scurried over 
her body as though playing a game with each 
other. A large rattler crawled over her ankles, 
and late in the afternoon a large mountain lion 
walked up and sniffed her over from head to foot, 
then bounded over her and disappeared over the 
rocks into the canyon. She awoke in time to see 
his tawny haunches pass out of sight, and was so 
badly frightened that she decided to get out into 
the open as quickly as possible. 

Shadows were lengthening rapidly when she 
climbed out of the wash to the level expanse 
of desert over which the velvety darkness fell 
like a garment. She continued on her way to 
the northeast until she had encountered two or 
three cactus beds that stabbed her legs cruelly 
and caused her to moan with pain. How hot and 
thirsty she was. She would give anything for 
a drink. Unable to make any progress in the 
pitch darkness, she sat down in the warm sand 
beside a greasewood bush and slept again. When 
she awoke the moon was high in the heavens, 
flooding the desert with its silvery light. She 
was chilled to the bone, but wonderfully refreshed. 


174 


THE REPRISAL 


A brisk walk soon warmed her up thoroughly. 
The distant ranges loomed up on all sides of the 
desert and she wondered where she was. She 
sat down to wait for sunrise when a mantle of 
darkness again covered all. Soon the first grey 
streaks of dawn peeped over the eastern range 
and the sun followed in all its glory. This was 
the first Arizona sunrise she had seen and was 
not sure but that it rivaled the sunsets. Higher 
and higher the sun rose. My—how hot it was 
getting. Her coat was becoming a burden to 
her. If only she could find one of the water 
holes she heard Bert talk about and wet her 
parched mouth and throat. The terrific heat 
was becoming almost unbearable. She plodded 
on, suffering untold tortures, until late in the 
afternoon, when she found relief from the re¬ 
lentless sun under a large greasewood bush. 
There was her handkerchief. Hers? How did 
it get there? Then she realized she had slept 
there the night before and had walked in a huge 
circle all day. This knowledge made her quail 
for a moment, but Madge was made of the stuff 
that never says die, so she determined to select 
a peak in the range to the north and never lose 
sight of it. If only she could withstand the 
thirst! No water for nearly forty hours, in a 
blistering sun much of the time, means intense 
suffering for even the most hardy of men. Just 
enough to wet the lips and tongue would be 
enough to go on. 

She continued plodding toward the north, 


THE REPRISAL 


175 


holding a huge peak, Mt. Floyd, constantly be¬ 
fore her until darkness was fast approaching, 
when she selected a clump of bushes as her rest¬ 
ing place for the night. She spread her hand¬ 
kerchief on the bushes to catch the dew and 
crawled underneath. The moon had appeared 
and was rapidly waning when she awoke. How 
greedily she sucked the moisture from her hand¬ 
kerchief. Never was a bit of dew relished so 
much. She felt greatly refreshed and lay down 
again to await the coming of day. When she 
awoke this time the sun was high in the heavens 
and her handkerchief was as dry as a bone. No 
wonder she sighed. Weak and shaky, she started 
bravely on, keeping the great brown mass of Mt. 
Floyd ever before her. Soon the heat waves 
were dancing across her vision. The mountain 
peaks began to rock rhythmically back and 
forth in grotesque shapes, and it was difficult to 
keep her chosen peak from combining with the 
rest. On and on she went. She was stagger¬ 
ing now. Her lips were swollen and her tongue 
too large for her mouth. Her eyes felt ready 
to burst. If the peaks would only stop dancing. 
Was that lopsided one hers? No, it couldn’t be. 
It must be the one off to the right. She wasn’t 
sure. They all looked alike. Why was she carry¬ 
ing her heavy coat? She didn’t know and threw 
it away. A stone in her path tripped her and 
she fell. It seemed as though she never could 
get up, but the sand blistered her and she strug¬ 
gled to her feet, staggering blindly onward, only 


176 


THE REPRISAL 


to fall again. This time she lay still, very still, 
face down on the sand. 

Darkness came and was driven away by the 
moonlight. A coyote’s dismal howl came from a 
distant hill, answered more distinctly by one 
nearer by. Back and forth they called, coming 
ever nearer to the unconscious girl, their forms 
casting long shadows on the desert floor as they 
joined company and trotted along side by side, 
or played in the bright moonlight. Suddenly 
they stopped and their necks bristled. Their 
noses went up. They sniffed and sniffed, turning 
their heads this way and that, until they finally 
located their coveted prey and licked their slob¬ 
bering jaws. Madge stirred and groaned a bit 
and they slunk back into the shadows of the 
brush, just as two Indian ponies with a snort 
came to such a sudden stop that they nearly 
unseated their riders, Old John and his squaw, 
who had been nodding in their saddles as their 
ponies plodded along with their sleepy heads 
nearly dragging the ground. Instantly Old John’s 
sharp eyes discovered Madge lying directly across 
the trail. He turned her over on her back while 
the old squaw brought her canteen of water and 
wet her swollen lips and tongue, which protruded 
from her mouth. Together they gently worked 
her arms back and forth above her head and 
frequently wet her lips and tongue by dripping 
water upon them. Every now and then John 
placed his ear over her heart and forced a little 
water between her lips. At last their efforts 


THE REPRISAL 


177 


were rewarded when Madge groaned and looked 
up into the kind, wrinkled face of old John and 
the greasy, smiling face of Nellie, his squaw. She 
called piteously for water, which John gave to 
her very sparingly at first. At his bidding Nellie 
brought a blanket from her pony and in it they 
wrapped their patient and placed her on one 
of the ponies, while Nellie walked the five or six 
miles to camp beside her pony. Madge was given 
a little food and drink and put to bed on a 
pallet of pine boughs and blankets. Again it 
was Nellie who gave up her bed and, wrapped 
in a blanket, sat and dozed on the hard floor 
until morning. 

It was past noon when the weary girl awoke 
and called for water. When the old squaw helped 
her to a seat outside the hogan, a curious crowd 
of bucks, squaws and kids gathered to see the 
beautiful white girl. She felt somewhat abashed 
at their stares at first, but felt at ease when 
their curiosity wore off and they greeted her 
with smiles and friendly glances. She was sur¬ 
prised to hear them speak such good English. 
Finally old John got rid of the onlookers and 
began questioning Madge. 

“You Mr. Bert’s squaw?” She blushingly ad¬ 
mitted that she was. 

“You are Captain John, are you not?” 

“Yeah. Me Captain John.” 

“Oh, we all love you so.” 

“Huh. You loco.” 


178 


THE REPRISAL 


“No. We love you for what you have done 
for us.” 

The old Chief seemed unable to understand 
and shook his head. “Where is your buck?” 
he asked. 

“In Phoenix.” 

“How come you come die out there?” and he 
pointed his thumb over his shoulder. 

“Bad men stole me and took me to the moun¬ 
tains. I ran away from them and got lost.” 

“Huh.” 

“Captain John, will you go to Bergman and 
wait for Bert until he comes and bring him here? 
We will pay you well.” 

“Huh. I go for Bert. Me no want pay.” 

Accordingly he went to town and camped on 
Bert’s doorstep until his arrival. As for Madge, 
she enjoyed her sojourn among the Indians for 
the very novelty of it. 

Her captors awoke from their drunken sleep 
long after noon and each blamed the other for 
his lapse of vigilance. They hurled anathemas 
and vituperation at each other until they were 
at a loss to know what else to say. Lafe was the 
first to come to his senses. 

“We had better hustle and get the girl again 
or Jeff will kill both of us. Lord help us if we 
don’t find her,” he said. 

“Well, if we don’t find her, I am going to beat 
it across the country,” returned Andy. 

“A pile of good that would do you. No matter 


THE REPRISAL 


179 


where you went, Jeff would be sure to find you. 
I’ll make up a good story and then prepare to 
face the music,” retorted Lafe. 

“Yes, and while we stand here chewing the 
rag, the girl is putting miles between us.” 

Hurrying out into the big wash and ascending 
an eminence where a good view of the surround¬ 
ing country could be had, they scanned the 
desert far and wide, but not a living thing was 
there in sight. Two more dejected men were 
never seen as they descended and mounted their 
horses again. 

“I hardly know where to look for her, darn 
her hide. She had no business leaving us in 
the lurch that way,” said Lafe. 

“No. I suppose she ought to have been de¬ 
lighted to be taken a captive and should have 
stayed right with us like a good little girl while 
we fools were sleeping off a regular drunk. It's 
your own fault. You have taken the leadership 
of this plot ever since Jeff hired us, and I will 
tell him so.” retorted Andy. 

They nearly came to blows over this speech, 
but finally became calm and started their search 
in earnest, scouring the desert for miles until 
darkness drove them into camp without a trace 
of their quarry. The next day was no more suc¬ 
cessful and night closed upon two badly disap¬ 
pointed and frightened beings. The fact that 
they had been outwitted by a mere girl humiliated 
them also. 

On the fourth day of their futile quest they 


180 


THE REPRISAL 


espied the object of their faithful search in the 
Hualapai camp. With a shout of triumph, they 
rode up and tried to take forcible possession of 
Madge but her piercing shriek brought the 
whole camp upon the scene in a twinkling. The 
bucks saw the two rowdies trying to force her 
to the back of a horse and manhandled them 
most effectively. How she prayed for old John 
to appear. However, his stalwart son, Duke, 
proved himself just as capable, and more so 
because of his ability to express himself in per¬ 
fect English. 

“I want to know,” he began, “by what right 
you come in here and disturb our peaceful camp.” 

“By right of ownership,” answered Lafe. “She 
belongs to the Big Boss, Jeff Melton. We were 
taking her to him when she sneaked away. I 
demand that you allow us to take her before we 
make trouble for you.” 

“You evidently haven’t learned that slavery has 
been abolished in this country. And you prob¬ 
ably do not know that we as a tribe owe your 
Big Boss, as you call him, no allegiance. Pos¬ 
sibly you are unaware that your Big Boss is a 
fugitive from justice. You two rascals are male¬ 
factors in the eyes of the law and we would be 
committing a felony if we allowed you to escape.” 
At a sign from him the rowdies had their arms 
bound behind them before they had time to even 
attempt escape and they were led away like two 
craven curs. 


XXI 


All was in readiness at the hospital for Jimmy’s 
reception when he and Bert arrived. Gwen and 
Aunt Nell were already waiting and when they 
appeared Gwen became so excited that Bert had 
to admonish her strongly to be calm and control 
her feelings. 

“Here is the Queen,” said Bert, as they came 
into the presence of the two ladies. Jimmy re¬ 
sponded with a low bow. 

A great lump that seemed likely to choke her 
filled Gwen’s throat at sight of him whom we 
will, from now on, call by his rightful name, Hal. 
“Hal, Hal, don’t you know me, your Gwen?” 
burst from her lips in heart-rending tones, as she 
held out her hands in appeal. 

He looked long and steadily at her, brushed 
his hand across his eyes several times, and gazed 
into her eyes again. 

“Hal, Hal, this is your Gwen,” she cooed softly. 
The little audience stood spellbound. 

His face lighted up and a momentary flicker 
of recognition spread over it, but was gone in a 
second, and he shook his head sadly. 

Laying his hand on his shoulder, Bert spoke 
kindly to him, saying, “It is the Queen’s desire 
that you submit to the kindly ministrations of 
these friends of ours who will later present you 
181 


182 


THE REPRISAL 


to her with shorn hair and beard thoroughly dis¬ 
guised. Is it not so, your Majesty?” turning to 
Gwen. 

“It is my desire that you carry out the orders 
of these trusty servants,” she answered. 

“It is for the Queen,” Bert again assured him. 

“For the Queen,” echoed Hal, as they left the 
room and he was left with the doctors and nurses. 
He was given his first bath, haircut and shave in 
twenty years and enjoyed it hugely, so much 
so that the attendants had to evoke the name 
of the Queen to get him out of the bathtub. That 
night he slept in a white man’s bed between 
snow-white sheets and seemed to enjoy the lux¬ 
ury of it all. 

The next morning the surgeons examined his 
head carefully and decided that a very simple 
operation would undoubtedly effect a complete 
recovery. Accordingly the surgical action was 
performed at once. 

When he came out from under the effects of 
the anaesthetic and looked into the face of his 
beloved wife, he was the same old Hal as of yore, 
but pale and with snow-white hair. “Why, Gwen, 
my darling, why are your eyes tear-stained, and 
Aunt Nell’s, too?” he asked. A troubled look 
came into his eyes as he held her at arm’s length. 
“What has happened? You seem changed in 
some way. Are you ill? Why, your hair has 
many silver threads in it. And Aunt Nell’s is as 
white as snow. Where am I? I don’t under¬ 
stand.” 


THE REPRISAL 


183 


Gwen broke down completely and sobbed hys¬ 
terically, as did Nell, so the doctors insisted on 
their leaving the room. Bert took them back to 
the hotel where he, too, had an opportunity to 
recuperate from the strain. 

Hal was told that he had been in an accident 
but was assured he would be out in a few days. 
True to their statements, he did recover in a re¬ 
markably short time and was soon about, ap¬ 
parently as strong as ever. Of course, he asked 
a great many questions and one day when he 
seemed in unusually high spirits he was told the 
astounding story of his many lost years. When 
he was introduced to his future son-in-law he 
nearly crushed Bert’s hand in trying to express 
his gratitude. He looked him over critically and 
said frankly, “You are some man,” at which he 
blushed like a school girl. 

Hal’s impatience to see his beautiful daughter 
and his determination to bring Jeff to justice 
hastened the return journey home, arriving there 
on the same day that old John got there on his 
mission to fulfill Madge’s request. 

The darkened house, the unlocked door and no 
answer from Madge alarmed them greatly. 
Lights were quickly lighted. An accumulation of 
dust lay on everything. Terrified, Gwen called 
her nearest neighbor who informed her that 
Madge had been gone for three days, at which 
her mother was stricken with fear and hurried 
back to break the news to the men. Bert was as 
terror-stricken as she, but cool-headed, and 


184 


THE REPRISAL 


planned to go at once in search of the missing 
girl. Hal wished to accompany him, but as it 
was deemed wise to keep his identity a secret 
for the present he was content to remain with his 
precious wife. 

Bert got his horse from the livery barn and 
rode around to his shack for his heavy riding 
suit. There on his doorstep he found old John 
fast asleep. At Bert’s approach he awoke. “Huh. 
You helluva fella. Go way. Men stealum squaw.” 

Bert grabbed him by the arm and nearly 
twisted it off in his excitement. John jerked 
away, highly indignant. 

“You fool. You loco?” 

“No, I am not quite locoed yet, but nearly so. 
Forgive me, John, I was excited. Go on.” 

“She run away from men. Me find um, dead 
on desert.” 

“Oh, God. Dead?” he gasped. 

“Yeah. Me make um well. She in my camp.” 

“Oh, you bully old fellow,” and Bert gave him 
a smack between the shoulders that nearly 
knocked the wind out of him. It was a sulky 
old John that he took back to Gwen’s with him. 

Their joy was unbounded when they found 
Madge was safe and John was somewhat be¬ 
wildered at the attentions showered upon him. 
Hal wrung his hand until he yelled, “Hiyu. Whas 
matter wi’ you?” 

Jerking his hand away and comically pulling 
his fingers apart, he looked long and steadily at 


THE REPRISAL 


185 


Hal, then stepped close and ran his finger along 
the scar on his head, left by the operation. 

“Huh. You Jimmy. Me ketchum dead. Make 
um well. You loco,” pointing to his head. 

Hal laughed. “Yes, I’m Jimmy all right, but 
not loco any more.” 

“No more loco?” 

“No.” 

John then pulled a pitiful face and placed his 
hands over his stomach and bent nearly double. 
“Me hongry. No eatum. Me hongry,” he 
whined in so doleful a tone that they all laughed. 
For once he was stuffed until he could stuff no 
more. “My stars. I never saw such a glutton 
in all my born days,” declared Nell. She had 
probably never seen a hungry man eat before. 
That night he slept at Gwen's and at daybreak 
he and Bert left for camp, Bert mounted on 
Satin. Madge spied them as they came over the 
brow of the hill and fairly flew to meet them. 
She was almost on the verge of hysterics with 
joy and relief, but soon composed herself enough 
to tell the story Bert was so anxious to hear— 
her abduction and escape, followed by hours of 
wandering and suffering. After she had finished 
and her lover had heartily expressed his sym¬ 
pathy in various ways, she exclaimed, “And oh, 
Bert, the Indians have taken captive the men 
who abducted me.” 

“They have? How did they get here?” 

“Well, you see they were searching everywhere 
for me and spied me outside of the hogan one 


186 


THE REPRISAL 


day, when they attempted to kidnap me again, 
but Duke was too clever for them and took them 
prisoners.” 

“Just let me get at their hides.” 

“Oh, don’t start any more trouble; we have had 
quite enough,” she pleaded. But Bert was not 
easily persuaded and demanded of Duke to have 
them brought before him. Madge and the In¬ 
dians gathered about, wondering what was going 
to happen; they were not long kept in doubt. 

“You dirty, contemptible whelps,” he said, “I 
am going to give you a little of what is due you. 
Square off there and defend yourselves.” A grunt 
of approval passed through the assembled crowd 
for physical combat is always thrilling to the 
savage. 

When Bert assailed the two men Madge was 
sore afraid for him, but as the fight progressed 
she became as excited as the rest and clapped 
her hands whenever it seemed to be in his favor. 
Neither of his antagonists were small men. They 
were wiry and active and besides were fighting 
for their very lives, for they felt Bert would go 
the limit. They fought like wild cats, kicking, 
biting, scratching and punching with all their 
might, but were not equal to this young giant in 
strength, fighting to avenge his mate. He 
landed a knockout, first to Lafe and then to 
Andy in quick succession, and the fight was over. 
Never had he received such an ovation, even on 
the gridiron in his old college days, as he did 
from the assembled Indians. 


THE REPRISAL 


187 


“Oh, you are just wonderful,” cried Madge 
in admiration. 

“I believe that is what you said once before,” 
laughed Bert. 

He asked Duke and old John to send his van¬ 
quished adversaries to Bergman under guard and 
turn them over to the sheriff, to which they 
readily agreed. With an escort of a half-dozen 
husky bucks, they were safely delivered at the 
jail where Bert stopped and swore to a warrant 
against them. 

It was dark when the lovers reached home. 
Never was there such a reunion, hugs, kisses, 
smiles and tears, all intermingled together. When 
the excitement had worn away sufficiently for 
Madge to collect her thoughts she gave a detailed 
account of her experiences, interrupted frequently 
with questions from her interested audience. 
When she had finished, their wrath was aroused 
more than ever and they began to speculate as 
to who might be the instigator. 

“I’ll bet it was that brute, Jeff,” stoutly af¬ 
firmed Aunt Nell. 

“He couldn’t possibly have an object to ac¬ 
complish in doing such a thing,” said Hal. 

“Oh, yes, he could. You don’t know that 
cold-blooded devil and never have,” maintained 
Nell. 

“You may be right. Time will tell.” 

And time did tell the very next day when Bert 
went to the grocery. There he learned of the 
raid on Dayley, the arrest of some of the gang, 


188 


THE REPRISAL 


the pursuit of the others, and the fact that the 
Big Boss who planned the raid was Jeff. When 
he got home and reported the news Madge ex¬ 
claimed, “Why, the men who carried me away 
told me it was the Big Boss’s orders.” 

“I told you so. I told you so,” replied Nell 
most emphatically. 

“That makes just one more score for him to 
settle with me,” said Hal quietly. Further com¬ 
ment was interrupted by the arrival of Juan, who 
was intensely excited and asked for Bert. After 
an exchange of greetings he at once delivered 
his message. “Jeff and Diehl made their getaway 
three days ago with Commodore and four depu¬ 
ties in hot pursuit. They are still at large and 
this evening one of the deputies came in for 
more men. Commodore thinks he has them 
cornered in the desert south of Judith. If Jeff 
slips through he will make for a hidden refuge 
in the mountains.” 

“The log cabin in the canyon, I suppose,” said 
Bert. 

“Yes. Do you know about it?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, let us head him off there, Bert.” 

“A good idea. I’m ready right now.” 

Hal voiced his determination to accompany 
them and would not yield to the pleading of 
the three ladies not to cross Jeff’s path any more. 
“I have a score to settle with him. He shall 
not escape his just deserts. I mean to punish 
him with my own hands.” So the three men 


THE REPRISAL 


189 


prepared for the perilous trip by arming them¬ 
selves heavily, and early the next day made their 
way up the precipitous trail to the cabin, there 
to await the coming of Jeff. 


XXII 


When Diehl made his escape from the sheriff 
he rode like the wind throughout the night and 
arrived at Jeff’s shortly before daybreak with his 
horse in a pitiable plight. He pounded on the 
heavily barred entrance until Jeff, gun in hand, 
called out, "‘Who’s there?” Other members of 
the household awoke and crowded into the big 
hall. 

“It’s me—Diehl—and hell’s to pay.” 

Jeff was not long getting into his clothes and 
admitting him. 

“What’s up now?” he asked excitedly. 

“Oh, Shorty squealed on the whole bunch and 
I was the only one to get away.” 

“You don’t say. How did they get Shorty?” 

“Commodore smelled a mouse evidently and 
pumped him until he weakened, I suppose.” 

“So Commodore is on the job, is he?” 

“You bet he is.” 

“Hell. We’ll have to make tracks. He’s a 
bloodthirsty hound on a trail.” 

Preparations to leave were made at once— 
saddle bags filled with grub and whiskey and 
the canteens with water, Wildcat saddled for 
Jeff and another good traveler for Diehl, blankets 
and other necessities fastened securely. Of course, 
they did not forget their ammunition and both 
190 


THE REPRISAL 


191 


were heavily armed. Just before leaving Jeff 
took five thousand dollars in greenbacks from his 
safe and put them in his belt. When all was in 
readiness, he kissed Rosa and Mercedes tenderly, 
waved a loving farewell and was gone. 

Facing the south they rode toward the great 
Judith range and as they traveled Diehl related 
the story, so far as he knew it, of Shorty’s 
betrayal, his escape and the arrest of his asso¬ 
ciates. All day they rode, but sparing their 
horses as much as possible. While stopping to 
rest them and refresh themselves, they thought 
they saw something moving in the direction from 
which they had come. Immediately Jeff took 
out his powerful field glasses and there, miles to 
the north, rode five horsemen in pursuit. 

“Are they in sight?” asked Diehl. 

Gritting his teeth with rage, he handed the 
glasses to his companion and then they both 
knew the officers were on their trail. 

The same night that Diehl made his escape 
Henry Dayley returned, and when Commodore 
organized his posse he put him in charge of 
twenty men to go in search of the white-faced 
herd in Big Basin, giving them strict orders to 
allow none of the rustlers to escape. It was 
near sundown when they arrived at the basin, and 
Dayley decided to wait until early morning be¬ 
fore attempting the rescue of his herd and the 
capture of the outlaws, so the party camped at 
the edge of the Malapai beds for the night. Just 
as dawn was peeping over the eastern hills, 


192 


THE REPRISAL 


Dayley led his men through the pass. Apparently 
not a soul was astir, but Devil Craig was an 
extremely early bird and heard them coming. 
Rousing his men he asked, “Shall we make a get¬ 
away or fight it out with them if it’s a posse?” 

“Might as well fight it out. They’ll get us 
anyway,” snarled Andy Mullen. “I’d as soon 
die getting some other fellow as to surrender 
and get strung up anyway.” 

In the dim light Devil and his three rustlers 
succeeded in making a rocky place at the base 
of the cliffs on one side of the valley, while 
Dayley and his followers quietly surrounded the 
camp. No one answered when called and some 
of the men dismounted and peered cautiously 
into the tents. The first warning they had was 
when four shots, in close succession, rang out in 
the still air. Three of Dayley’s men and one 
horse went down. The rest of the posse sought 
shelter wherever they could find it until they 
were able to locate the desperadoes. A puff of 
white smoke and then another soon disclosed 
the hiding place. Dayley deployed his men in 
a wide semicircle and they slowly crawled on 
their bellies closer and closer to the goal, firing 
at every exposed head or body they caught a 
glimpse of. Two of his men were badly wounded 
in this advance, but the extreme ends of his little 
army reached the base of the cliffs and ascended 
high enough to attack the outlaws from the rear 
where they were soon pouring a deadly fire 


THE REPRISAL 


193 


upon them. In a short time there were no 
answering shots. 

Dayley and his men rushed from their retreat 
and found four victims lying in a huddled heap, 
all of them fairly riddled with bullets. They then 
turned their attention to their own wounded and 
found that the two men who fell at the first 
volley were dead and three others badly injured. 
Binding up their wounds as best he could, Dayley 
had them placed on improvised litters made from 
the canvas of the outlaws’ tents, each swung 
between two horses. Leaving several of the 
posse to bring in his herd, he and the rest 
hurried the dead and wounded to town as rapidly 
as possible, where the injured received surgical 
attention in time to save their lives. Dayley was 
proclaimed a hero in the little town and Queenie 
May was the proudest woman in Arizona. 

While this good work was being accomplished, 
Commodore and his deputies had arrived at 
Anvil Rock, where they were informed that Jeff 
had gone to East Valley and that Diehl had not 
been there. But Commodore was a wise old 
bird and took no one’s word for anything when 
vital issues were at stake. He swept the valley 
with his glasses and discerned the two fugitives 
riding for their lives to the south. He smiled a 
knowing smile and Rosa almost swooned when 
she saw the five men strike off on the south trail. 

The fugitives reached the range late in the 
day and crossed over a steep, dangerous pass, 
thousands of feet high and down a corkscrew 


194 


THE REPRISAL, 


trail, safe only for sure-footed animals. But 
they made it and arrived at the foot of the range 
on the arid desert side in pitch darkness. At 
this point Diehl wanted to go west; Jeff was 
firmly determined to go east to his mountain 
cabin where he expected to find Madge. Finally 
Diehl yielded and accompanied Jeff to the east, 
but felt uneasy, for he had noticed an evil ex¬ 
pression in his eyes several times. He knew 
Jeff was a cold-blooded brute who would stop at 
nothing. They rode on for an hour in the dark¬ 
ness of the desert until they arrived at a shallow 
sandstone ravine that widened to forty or fifty 
feet. Here they dismounted and when Diehl 
suggested that the officers might overtake them 
if they stopped, Jeff replied, “I should say not. 
A billy goat couldn’t come over that pass at 
night.” But he didn’t know Commodore, for 
when the moon was high in the heavens, he led 
his followers over the pass and camped at the 
foot of the range until morning. 

Jeff and Diehl enjoyed a camp supper and then 
stretched out on their blankets on opposite sides 
of the fire to smoke. Each man was busy with 
his own thoughts and eyeing the other with 
deadly intent, each looking and hoping for an 
opportunity to put the other out of the way. 
Both were determined not to sleep and each was 
careful not to turn his back toward the other. 
Jeff knew that Diehl had sensed what was in his 
mind and that it was a question now who would 
be first in getting rid of the other. It was a 


THE REPRISAL 


195 


most uncomfortable period of silent, watchful 
waiting. Morning found them both weary and 
restless, but ever wakeful and watchful of each 
other. 

After breakfast, shortly after they had started 
out, they mounted a slight eminence just outside 
the ravine and what should they see not more 
than a half mile away, but Commodore and his 
men spread out Manlike and coming directly 
toward their lair. The fugitives dashed off to 
the south with the officers in hot pursuit, but 
never getting within shooting distance of them. 
Two days of hide-and-seek followed among the 
sand dunes, hills and arroyos. Jeff was deter¬ 
mined not to make for the cabin until he had 
disposed of Diehl and completely thrown the 
officers off the trail. On the third day of the 
chase they did succeed in puzzling their pursuers 
for many hours and made their way to the ravine 
where they had spent the first night. The big 
mistake of their lives was made when they built 
a small fire on which to prepare supper, for the 
sharp eyes of Commodore espied it, though many 
miles away. He and his companions rode much 
of the night and at break of day arrived at the 
foot of the trail over the pass where they had 
first entered the desert. Here they dismounted 
for a short rest and breakfast. 

With the fugitives the night was a repetition 
of their first one together but with this differ¬ 
ence—both men were absolutely worn out with 
fatigue and lack of sleep. Diehl, being years 


196 


THE REPRISAL 


younger, seemed to be in the better condition 
to withstand a night of constant vigilance. An 
hour—two hours—passed of this deadly, silent 
watch. Jeff felt confident of the outcome. Soon 
he nodded, but for a moment only. He nodded 
again. His watcher’s eyes fairly snapped. He 
roused himself with an effort but soon nodded 
once more for a more prolonged period; then he 
slept. With his back to the fire and his head 
on his crooked elbow, he was soon snoring. The 
wakeful sentinel began creeping toward him, an 
inch at a time. The sleeping man stirred and he 
was almost paralyzed, hardly breathing until he 
snored again. Closer and closer he crept with 
his heavy, clubbed six-shooter in his hand, until 
he was half standing, half kneeling over his 
unconscious victim. Then the butt of his gun 
descended on his exposed temple, and he 
straightened out on his back with a groan like 
a felled ox. 

A diabolical, triumphant grin overspread 
Diehl’s face. “It was you or I, Big Boss, and 
I win.” Replacing his gun in his holster, he 
quickly relieved his victim of his money and guns 
and transferred the grub, whiskey and canteens 
from Wildcat to his own mount, giving the un¬ 
burdened horse a cut with his quirt that sent 
him with a snort of rage galloping out wildly into 
the desert. Several days later that intelligent 
animal appeared at the home corrals, much to 
the wonder of all. 

Diehl figured that he could get by the pass 


THE REPRISAL 


197 


and well on his way to the west before the offi¬ 
cers could pick up the trail again. Accordingly, 
at dawn he began retracing the trail in that 
direction in an endeavor to get to the Pacific 
coast. He made good time and by sunrise was 
within a mile of the path over the mountains. 

Suddenly the sky became overcast. Fitful little 
gusts of wind drove sharp particles of sand and 
pebbles against his face. His horse pricked up 
his ears and stepped gingerly along. The gusts 
began to follow each other more closely and the 
air became clouded with sand. Then the wind 
came with a roar and carried a seemingly solid 
mass of stifling dust and sand. It increased in 
volume and soon one of the dreaded desert storms 
was raging in all its fury. Instinctively, the 
horse turned tail to the storm and hung his head 
close to the ground. His rider dismounted and, 
wrapped in his blanket, threw himself flat upon 
the ground, face down, and his feet toward the 
oncoming storm. The fine sand swirled around 
his blanketed head and sifted in through every 
pore like fine mist as he choked and coughed. 
“Oh, God, will it never cease?” he prayed. Once 
he thrust his head out of the blanket and as 
quickly drew it back to stifle and choke as 
before. After a time he lay very still. Thus the 
officers found him beside his horse, dead, and 
almost completely buried under a mound of sand. 
One of the deputies returned to Bergman with 
the body and the rest rode on to the east. 


XXIII 


When Jeff recovered partially from his stupe¬ 
fied condition and discovered his loss, he threw 
out his hands in anguished despair. “Robbed of 
all I possessed—money, grub, water, horse, every¬ 
thing. And afoot in the devil’s garden. God 
help me,” he groaned. Arousing himself, his 
brain cleared rapidly and he cursed as few men 
ever curse. Facing the west and defiantly shak¬ 
ing his fist, he roared, “I’ll outwit you yet, you 
hell hounds.” Then he turned to the east and 
speedily made his way toward his ultimate goal— 
the range beyond which lay the cabin in the 
canyon. 

Commodore spied him high up on the moun¬ 
tainside and called to his men to ride like fiends 
in that direction. They were determined that 
their quarry should not escape them this time. 
As he disappeared in the heavy timber on the 
mountain crest they redoubled their efforts to 
reach the summit and pick up his trail before it 
was too late. Jeff felt little anxiety, but hurried 
on and reached the little mountain park across 
the canyon from his cabin in safety. His security 
was short-lived, however, for it will be remem¬ 
bered that the officers were not his only pur¬ 
suers. Unfortunately for him, he was espied by 
Juan, Hal and Bert as he stopped for a backward 
198 


THE REPRISAL 


199 


look before making his way to the cabin. Hal, 
thirsty for revenge, insisted on meeting him alone 
and admonished his companions to remain hidden 
until he should need them. Walking across the 
bridge he stood with folded arms in full view 
of them as well as Jeff, who met him face to 
face, directly in his path. He let out a blood¬ 
curdling yell and recoiled in terror from the 
apparition, for such he supposed him to be. The 
terrified man stood like a statue as Hal walked 
up boldly and between clenched teeth said, “I 
am no phantom but* a real flesh and blood man 
who has come to make you, Jeff Melton, pay for 
my past twenty years of wasted life.” 

“Ha, so I have been harboring a viper in my 
home all these years, heh, Jimmy?” 

“You have been harboring the rightful owner, 
you mean, and now you are going to answer to 
him.” By this time Hal had lost his temper and 
swung a terrific blow on the point of Jeff’s jaw 
that sent him reeling for several feet. As he 
tried to recover himself, Hal landed another 
punch that put him down again. Then he allowed 
him to get to his feet and they fought like two 
enraged bulls. Jeff was a fighter, too, but Hal 
was his master in every way and soon had his 
antagonist reeling groggily. His comrades had 
come out into the clearing with a grip on each 
other’s arm. “Ah, just look at that,” said Bert, 
“and that—and that. Good God, what punish¬ 
ment to mete out to a man.” 

Juan grunted in reply and gritted his teeth 


200 


THE REPRISAL 


with each powerful blow. This was indeed ter¬ 
rible punishment, but Hal was a wild beast now, 
fighting to avenge the loss of twenty long years 
—years taken from the best part of his life. Jeff, 
still full of fighting spirit, rushed toward him 
like a maniac and found himself in a pair of 
arms resembling steel coils in their strength. 
Fighting like a wild cat, he was pulled close to his 
adversary’s body whose left arm, quick as light¬ 
ning, shot up under his chin, his powerful hand 
on the same side, gripping his shoulder in a hold 
that would not loosen. Jeff struggled with all 
his strength to free himself but was as power¬ 
less as a babe in a giant’s grasp. Tighter and 
tighter Hal pulled his captive’s body toward him 
at the waist. Farther and farther he forced his 
head and chest from him, until he frantically 
clawed the air and gasped for breath. “Oh, God, 
Hal, don’t break my back,” he gasped. “Think 
what you are doing.” 

Hal was raving. He was getting revenge for 
all he had suffered and was determined that this 
cold-blooded criminal should pay—yes, he should 
pay. To this end he was exerting all his gigantic 
strength. Suddenly there was a sharp snap and 
his victim lay limp in his arms. The spectators 
had been terrified at the awful scene and were 
too paralyzed to make a move. 

Hal laid the unconscious man gently on the 
green grass and a sob that seemed to come from 
his very soul shook him from head to foot. Turn¬ 
ing to his companions, he said, “I had to do it. 


THE REPRISAL 


201 


It was the only way he could be adequately 
punished. He brought this retribution for his 
crimes upon himself. I will answer to my God 
alone if I have done any wrong.” The tears 
were running down his cheeks as he finished. 

“But you have only given him a sound thrash¬ 
ing,” said Bert. 

Hal laid his hand tenderly on his shoulder. 
“No, my boy, I have broken his back.” 

“Good God,” groaned Bert, “but I guess he 
deserved it.” 

“It is certainly terrible punishment, but the 
only thing to make him realize the extent of his 
cursed wrongdoing if he lives through it,” said 
Juan, looking awesomely at the huddled heap at 
their feet. 

They straightened out the crumpled form of 
the once proud and powerful man and were glad 
to find he was still breathing. Hal tenderly 
bathed the swollen face and forced water be¬ 
tween his lips. They were working to restore 
consciousness when the officers came rushing 
across the clearing, guns in hand. Juan held up 
a warning hand and they dismounted. Coming 
close, all gazed silently at the pitiful object at 
their feet. Then Commodore asked for an ex¬ 
planation and Bert related briefly the story of the 
lifelong friendship of these two men, of the das¬ 
tardly thing Jeff had done to his friend, of his 
attempt to get Madge into his clutches, of Hal’s 
recovery, and the meeting of the two men at 
this particular time and place. When he finished, 


202 


THE REPRISAL 


Commodore looked puzzled. “You say he broke 
Jeff's back with his bare hands?" 

“Yes," answered Bert. “It was the most ter¬ 
rible sight I ever witnessed and I shall never 
forget it to my dying day." 

“My gosh," ejaculated Commodore, “I never 
heard of such strength. Jeff was a powerful 
giant himself. What must this man be? He 
got our man for us anyway. I am glad I didn’t 
have to kill him myself." 

They carried the helpless man into the cabin 
and prepared to leave for Bergman, two of the 
men remaining with Jeff until medical aid could 
be sent out. After several weeks, when he had 
recovered as much as he ever would, he was 
transferred to the criminal ward of the county 
hospital, a helpless invalid for life, being com¬ 
pletely paralyzed below his waist. 

After a great deal of controversy throughout 
the length and breadth of the territory he was 
brought before the bar of justice for trial. He 
was indeed an object of pity, lying flat on a 
wheeled bed in the courtroom, and much sym¬ 
pathy was expressed for him by a few former 
friends who supplied brilliant counsel for him. 
An exciting legal battle was fought for a month 
or more. The old duster and bandana were pro¬ 
duced as evidence to one of his wicked deeds. 
As the details of his numerous crimes came to 
light, all sympathy turned to Hal and his fellow 
sufferers and Jeff was sentenced to the state 
penitentiary for a term of twenty-five years. 


THE REPRISAL 


203 


The Universal Law was surely, if slowly, work¬ 
ing. Retribution came to this cold-blooded crim¬ 
inal “full, heaped up and running over.” Not 
only the loss of power, friends, family and for¬ 
tune was his fate, but the privilege of drinking 
in the beauty of the great outdoors which was 
now denied him, was a cruel blow to his nature- 
loving soul. On his cot in the prison hospital 
he spent several long, weary years in bitter 
repentance and finally died—a tired, wornout, 
disappointed old man, scarcely recognizable to 
his old acquaintances. 

Dick spent all his fortune fighting to gain 
his freedom, but served a long prison term, as 
did all of Jeffs old gang. They were nabbed 
before they could get out of the country and the 
credit was given to Commodore, who was instru¬ 
mental in cleaning out the worst band of out¬ 
laws that ever infested that part of Arizona. 


CONCLUSION 


By order of the Federal Court Hal came into 
full possession of the vast estate and fortune 
that had been accumulated by Jeff during the 
many years that he was deprived of home, family 
and happiness. He and Gwen were very happy 
in their comfortable home and enjoyed the com¬ 
panionship of Aunt Nell, who spent the last 
years of a beautiful old age with them, loved 
by all who knew her. 

Mercedes married a splendid young banker 
of Flagstaff, who afterwards became Bert’s part¬ 
ner and close friend in the banking business. 

One evening at the end of a perfect summer 
day, Gwen and Hal were sitting on the spacious 
south porch of their home at Anvil Rock, enjoy¬ 
ing the enchanted view, when Madge came out 
in a dainty gown, carrying a wee mite of a 
baby boy—Bert White, Junior. Rosa joined them 
and the arrival of Bert and Juan from a long 
ride to the confines of the ranch made the circle 
complete. Love and justice reigned supreme in 
this beautiful home and it was the Great Law 
of the universe that had brought this about— 
the Law of Retribution. 


THE END 

204 




























































